Admission to the OSCE: 30 January 1992.

OSCE Office in Baku: Established 16 November 1999.  Please visit the Links section to view its official website.

Policing overview: The National Police is an integral part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which is the central executive agency responsible for public security, prevention and exposure of criminal offences in the Republic of Azerbaijan within the framework of authorities provided by the national legislation.

1. Structure and organization
2. Education / Training
3. Oversight

1. Structure and organization
The following departments and divisions comprise the National Police of Azerbaijan:

According to the Regulations on the Ministry of Internal Affairs, approved by the Presidential Decree on 30 June 2001, the Ministry performs its duties either directly or through the bodies subordinated to it. The Ministry is composed of main departments, departments, divisions and other units.

Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Internal Troops, Fire Service, territorial and specialized police units, regular police regiments, educational, training and medical institutions, National Central Bureau of Interpol in the Republic of Azerbaijan, sport societies, as well as other establishments compose the unified structure system of the Ministry.

To execute the functions and responsibilities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs the following specialized services are currently included into the Ministry’s headquarters according to the structure approved by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan: Secretariat (main department), Main Institutional Inspectorate Department, Administration of Duty Services (department), Main Criminal Intelligence Department, Main Investigation and Inquest Department, Main Organized Crime Department, Main Drug Abuse Control Department, Internal Security Department, Crime Detection Department, Main Operations and Statistics Department, Main Public Security Department, Main Department of Internal Troops, Main Transportation Police Department, Main Traffic Police Department, Main Security Department, Passport and Registration Department, National Central Bureau of Interpol in the Republic of Azerbaijan (main department), Main Human Resources Department, Internal Investigation Department, Department on the work with Personnel, International Relations Department, Operations and Communication Department, Press Service (department), Financial and Planning Department, Logistics Department, Medical Department, Managerial Service (department), Construction and Engineering Department, Sport Centre (department), Mobilisation and Civil Defence Division.

2. Education / Training
The Police Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan was established on 23 May 1992 and is a higher educational institution under the authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Academy provides training of qualified personnel for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and, by its authority and agreement, for other ministries, organizations and countries.

For detailed information please visit the official website of the Azerbaijani Police Academy.

3. Oversight
The Internal Investigations Department is a separate unit within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). MIA officers supervise compliance with the law, human rights and civil liberties in executing their duties and conducting inquiries into complaints, completing applications and reports regarding involvement of MIA officers in activities inconsistent with their office, violations of the law and illegal actions.

The Department comprises the Division in Charge of Complaints and Applications, the Organizing/Analyzing Division and the Secretariat. The Department is directly subordinate to the Minister and answerable only to him. It is tasked to:

• conduct internal supervision over compliance with the law in internal affairs bodies;
• promote rehabilitation of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of physical and legal entities obstructed by actions of the officers of the bodies of Internal Affairs;
• carry out internal investigations of cases involving illegal actions or discrediting behavior of MIA officers while exercising their official duties;
• conduct pre-investigation inspections pertaining to official crimes (malfeasance), misconduct and other illegal acts committed or planned by MIA officers;
• provide protection of rights and interests of MIA officers specified by the legislation.
  

Located on the cross roads between Europe and Asia, Azerbaijan has a unique geographical situation and serves a transit hub for Euro-Asian inter-continental communications.

The Republic of Azerbaijan borders seven countries, the total length of the border makes 3370,4 km: 390,3 km with Russian Federation, 480 km with Georgia, 1007,1 km with Armenia, 15 km with Turkey, and 765 km with Iran. The Caspian Sea maritime border with Kazakhstan, Russia, Iran and Turkmenistan is 713 km.

The State Border Service (SBS) was established in 2002 as an independent institution and reports to the President of the country. SBS is tasked to provide for protection and inviolability of the state borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It combines operational, search, investigation and military functions.

Among others the main tasks of SBS are as following:

• fight against international terrorism;
• fight against illegal migration and human trafficking;
• fight with smuggling, illegal trafficking of drugs;
• fight with proliferation of WMD components;
• protection of oil-and gas platforms and pipelines in the Azerbaijani sector of Caspian Sea.

Structurally, SBS is divided into: Headquarters, Border Divisions, Border Detachments, Border Posts, Border Crossing Points, Coast Guard, Aviation and Logistics Units, the Academy and Training Centers.

Necessary information on justice system and judiciary can be found at the websites of the Ministry of Justice and Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan.