Azerbaijan does not mandate functional or accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market.

Under the Law on Telecommunications, Art. 6 assigns telecommunications regulation, including licensing, to the State, while Art. 8 requires licensing to be carried out in accordance with Azerbaijani law. Pursuant to Art. 39, operators and service providers must, in accordance with statutory requirements, create the conditions necessary to facilitate operational search, intelligence, and counterintelligence activities. This includes installing supplementary technical equipment within telecommunications networks and maintaining confidentiality regarding the methods used for such measures, as determined by the competent executive authority.
The licensing framework also requires applications for telecommunications service licences to include the technical conditions applicable to specialised equipment used to obtain information from telecommunications and other communications networks. These technical conditions must be approved by the Ministry of National Security for national security purposes. Applicants must also provide a warranty confirming the supply of specialised equipment enabling, from a national security standpoint, the acquisition of information across all types of communications systems designed, installed, or operated within the public telecommunications network. This requirement does not apply to networks owned by institutions or enterprises that are not connected to the public telecommunications network. The relevant services include, inter alia, IP telephony, data transmission, fixed-line telephony, radiotrunk and wireless telephony, national and international telecommunications channels, and cellular mobile services, including by technological standard.

Azerbaijan has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments. In fact, the country is an observer and not a full member of the WTO.

Azerbaijan maintains a telecommunications regulatory body known as the Information Communication Technologies Agency (ICTA), which is responsible for certification, registration, regulation and oversight, including quality control, within the domains of information and communication technologies and communications (telecommunications and postal services). However, the decision-making processes of this entity are not independent of governmental influence. Pursuant to Sections 2 and 3 of the Presidential Decree of the Republic of Azerbaijan entitled “On Certain Measures to Improve Governance in the Field of Digitalisation, Innovation, High Technologies and Communications in the Republic of Azerbaijan”, dated 11 October 2021, ICTA was established as a public legal entity under the authority of the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport.

Pursuant to Art. 26 of the Law on Media, where the founder of a media entity, including online platforms, is a natural person, this person must be a citizen of Azerbaijan who is permanently resident within the country. In cases where the founder is a legal entity, at least 75% of its authorised capital must be owned by a citizen or citizens of Azerbaijan permanently residing therein and/or by a legal entity or entities duly registered in the country.

Article 27.2 of the Law on Patents stipulates that foreign legal and natural persons shall file their applications with the authority designated by the relevant executive body exclusively through patent attorneys registered with that authority, unless otherwise provided for in international treaties to which Azerbaijan is a party.

Art. 27.7 of the Law on Patents stipulates that applications for a patent must be prepared in the Azerbaijani language. Other components of the application file may be submitted either in Azerbaijani or in another language. Where any part of the application file is submitted in a language other than Azerbaijani, a translation into Azerbaijani must be provided within two months from the date of filing. All correspondence relating to the application shall be conducted in Azerbaijani.
Section 1.18 of the “Requirements relating to the patent application claims document” stipulates that the claims and abstract of an invention or utility model must be prepared in both Azerbaijani and Russian.

Azerbaijan is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II). In fact, the country is an observer and not a full member of the WTO.

Art. 33.13 of the Law on Public Procurement provides that, when evaluating bids, the procurement commission must apply a procurement preference of up to 20% in favour of bids offering procurement items of local origin. The application of this preference must be recorded in the final protocol. The preference also applies to goods produced at any stage within the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The implementing instrument is the Cabinet of Ministers Decision No. 495 of 30 December 2023, which approves the Rules on the Application of the Procurement Preference and has been in force since 1 January 2024. Under Sections 1.2–1.3, the preference operates as an evaluation adjustment of up to 20% in favour of local goods, works, or services. For goods, Section 2.4 requires local raw materials/materials and local labour to account for more than 50% of the value of the good to qualify as local. For services, Section 3.2 requires the value of local goods used and wages payable to Azerbaijani citizens to exceed 50%.

Art. 48 of the Law on Public Procurement provides that the contracting authority may employ the request‑for‑quotations procedure for the procurement of items that have an existing and readily accessible market. Depending on the estimated contract value, this procedure must be conducted among specific supplier categories, and only their bids may be considered. Where the estimated value does not exceed 30,000 manats (approx. USD 17.600), participation is limited to suppliers classified as micro or small business entities. Where the estimated value ranges from 30,000 to 100,000 manats (approx. USD 58.800), suppliers classified as micro, small, or medium‑sized business entities may participate.

Art. 38.10 of the Law on Public Procurement stipulates that the successful supplier may enter into subcontract agreements for the provision of services, provided that such agreements are permitted by the bidding documents. The aggregate value of such subcontract agreements may not exceed 50% of the total value of the procurement contract, and at least 20% of the total value of all subcontracted work must be allocated to micro, small, or medium‑sized business entities registered in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Art. 5 of the Law on Public Procurement provides that restrictions may be imposed, on grounds of state security or pursuant to Azerbaijan’s international obligations, on the participation in procurement procedures of certain foreign suppliers or foreign suppliers originating from specific countries, including those with which Azerbaijan has no diplomatic relations.

Azerbaijan is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) nor does it have observer status. In fact, the country is an observer and not a full member of the WTO.

Bhutan has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.