General Part

FIRST SECTION
Main Provisions

Chapter II
Purposes and basic principles of criminal proceedings

Article 10. Legislation

10.2. No one may be incriminated or charged with a view to prosecution as a suspect or accused person, detained, arrested, searched, taken by force or subjected to other coercive procedural measures, nor convicted, punished or subjected to other limitations of rights and liberties other than on the basis of the rules and principles established by the laws of the Azerbaijan Republic which are in force and published.

General Part

FIRST SECTION
Main Provisions

Chapter II
Purposes and basic principles of criminal proceedings

Article 14. Guarantee of the right to liberty

14.2. Nobody may be detained or arrested other than on the grounds provided for in the Code and other laws of the Azerbaijan Republic.

General Part

FIRST SECTION
Main Provisions

Chapter II
Purposes and basic principles of criminal proceedings

Article 14. Guarantee of the right to liberty

14.5. The preliminary investigator, investigator, prosecutor or judge shall immediately release any person illegally taken into custody or arrested.

General Part

FIRST SECTION
Main Provisions

Chapter II
Purposes and basic principles of criminal proceedings

Article 22. Guarantee of the right to a court hearing

The judicial authorities shall secure the right of everyone to a fair and open court hearing in connection with the charges against them or the coercive procedural measures applied. The right to a court hearing may not be refused for any reason.

General Part

FIRST SECTION
Main Provisions

Chapter II
Purposes and basic principles of criminal proceedings

Article 23. Criminal trial only by a court

23.1. The criminal trial shall be carried out only by the competent court as part of the court system of the Azerbaijan Republic. No one may be held guilty of an offence or be convicted in the absence of a court judgment.

23.2. The creation of special courts and the appropriation of court powers shall be prohibited and shall entail liability under the legislation of the Azerbaijan Republic.

23.3. Judgments and other decisions by special or other illegally created courts shall not be valid and shall not be implemented.

General Part

FIRST SECTION
Main Provisions

Chapter II
Purposes and basic principles of criminal proceedings

Article 29. Examination by the appropriate court

29.1. Nobody may be deprived of the right to have his case examined by the court with statutory jurisdiction in the matter. The case may not be heard in another court without the permission of the person concerned.

29.2. It shall be prohibited to change the jurisdiction of the court as provided for in this Code or to groundlessly withdraw the case from the judge designated by law.

General Part

SECOND SECTION
THE COURTS AND THE PARTIES TO CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

Chapter IX
THE DEFENCE

Article 90. The suspect

90.2. The prosecuting authority shall be empowered to detain a suspect for the following periods :

90.2.1. persons detained: no more than 48 hours ;
90.2.2. a suspect about whom a choice of restrictive measure has been made, excluding arrest, bail and house arrest: no more than 10 days after the announcement of the decision.

90.3. Before the end of the period provided for in Article 90.2. of this Code, the prosecuting authority shall release the suspect and end the restrictive measure or take a decision to charge him.

90.4. If there are not sufficient grounds for suspicion, the prosecuting authority or the court shall release the suspect and end the restrictive measure before expiry of the periods laid down in Article 90.2 of this Code.

90.5. From the time of release, ending of the restrictive measure or when the decision is taken to bring charges, the person concerned shall cease to be considered as the suspect.

General Part

SECTION FOUR
COERCIVE PROCEDURAL MEASURES

Chapter XVI
DETENTION

Article 147. The use of detention during criminal proceedings

147.1. Detention during criminal proceedings may be applied only to the following :

147.1.1. a person suspected of committing an offence ;
147.1.2. a person who is to be charged or an accused who has violated the conditions governing the restrictive measure applied to him ;
147.1.3. a sentenced person, in order to settle the question of forcibly sending him to the place where the sentence or other final court decision is to be executed, replacing the penalty given to him with another or repealing his suspended sentence or conditional release.

147.2. Detention shall be applied in the following circumstances :

147.2.1. if there is a suspicion that the person concerned committed an offence ;
147.2.2. if there is an appropriate decision by the prosecuting authority about a person covered by Article 147.1.2 ;
147.2.3. if there is a court decision on the detention of a sentenced person pending settlement of the question of forcibly sending him to the place where the sentence or other final court decision is to be executed, replacing the penalty given to him with another or repealing his suspended sentence or conditional release.

147.3. The illegal detention of a person shall entail liability under the legislation of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Article 148. Detention of persons suspected of committing an offence

148.1. A person suspected of committing an offence shall be detained if there is a direct suspicion that he committed the offence or other information giving grounds for suspicion that he committed the act provided for in criminal law.

148.2. If there is a direct suspicion that a person committed an offence, the preliminary investigator, another official of the preliminary investigating authority, the investigator or the prosecutor may detain him in the following cases :

148.2.1. if the person is caught in the act of committing an offence provided for in criminal law or immediately thereafter on the scene of the offence ;
148.2.2. if the victim or other witnesses to the act themselves assert that the act provided for in criminal law was committed by this person ;
148.2.3. if clear marks indicative of the commission of the criminal act are discovered on the person's body, on his clothes or on other items he uses, in his home or in his means of transport.

148.3. If there is other information giving grounds to suspect a person of committing an act provided for in criminal law, he may be detained by the preliminary investigator, another official of the investigating authority, the investigator or the prosecutor in the following cases :

148.3.1. if he tries to escape from the crime scene into hiding, or to hide from the prosecuting authority ;
148.3.2. if he has no permanent home or lives in another area ;
148.3.3. if his identity cannot be established.

148.4. In the circumstances provided for in Article 148.1 and 148.2 of this Code, the person may be detained before the start of the criminal case. If no decision to start the criminal case is taken within 24 hours of the person being detained, the person shall be released immediately. Even if this decision is taken, the detention of the person may not exceed 48 hours. The detained person shall be charged within 48 hours of being taken into custody and shall be brought before a court ; the court shall examine the case without delay and decide between arrest as a restrictive measure and release.

Article 149. Apprehension of a person who has committed an offence with the aid of a person who witnessed the act

149.1. If the person committing an offence tries to escape during or immediately after the offence, a witness to the act may assist the prosecuting authority in apprehending the person, as follows :

149.1.1. he may tie up the person’s hands and feet if he resists ;
149.1.2. if the person who committed the offence is thought to have a gun or other dangerous weapon or to be carrying anything else which may be of significance to the criminal case, he may search him and seize these items for presentation to the prosecuting authority.

149.2. If he is not an official of the prosecuting authority, the person apprehending the offender shall immediately call the police, and, if this is impossible, shall bring the detained person to the police by force without delay.

Article 150. Detention of a person to charge him

150.1. If the evidence collected on a criminal case gives grounds to suppose that a person has committed an act provided for in criminal law, and if this person lives in another area or if his abode is not known, the investigator or prosecutor may decide to detain him. If a person hides from the prosecuting authority or intentionally fails to comply with a summons, and it is decided to detain him in order to charge him, the investigator or prosecutor shall at the same time announce a search for him.

150.2. Any official of the preliminary investigating authority, investigator or prosecutor who traces the suspect shall execute the decision to detain him in order to charge him, and immediately afterwards shall inform the investigator or prosecutor who took that decision.

150.3. The detention of the suspect shall not exceed 48 hours before he is charged. Pending the decision on arrest as a restrictive measure, the detained person shall be brought before a court within 48 hours of being taken into custody, and the court shall examine the case without delay and decide between arrest as a restrictive measure and release.

General Part

SECTION FOUR
COERCIVE PROCEDURAL MEASURES

Chapter XVI
DETENTION

Article 153. Safeguarding of detainees’ rights

153.1. In the event of detention, the prosecuting authority shall secure the detainee’s rights as suspect or accused, depending on his legal status as provided for in this Code.

153.2. To secure the rights of the detainee, the officials of the prosecuting authority and those in charge of the temporary detention facility shall :

153.2.1. inform the detainee immediately after detaining him of the grounds for detention, and explain to him his right not to testify against himself and his close relatives as well as his right to the assistance of defence counsel ;
153.2.2. take the detainee without delay to the police or other preliminary investigating authority’s temporary detention facility, register the detention, draw up a record and show him the detention record ;
153.2.3. report each instance of detention, immediately after registration in the temporary detention facility, to the head of the appropriate preliminary investigating authority and to the prosecutor in charge of the procedural aspects of the investigation (this information shall be given in writing within 12 hours of detention) ;
153.2.4. secure the right of the person to inform others of his detention immediately after detention (the authority in charge of the temporary detention facility, on his own initiative, shall inform the family members of any detainees who are elderly, under age or unable to do so themselves because of their mental state) ;
153.2.5. provide opportunities for the person, from the moment of detention, to meet in private and in confidence with his lawyer and legal representative under decent conditions and under supervision ;
153.2.6. if the detainee does not have a lawyer of his own, present him with a list of lawyers from the bar association offices in the vicinity of the temporary detention facility, contact the chosen lawyer and create an opportunity for the detainee to meet him ;
153.2.7. if the financial position of the detainee does not enable him to retain a lawyer at his own expense, create an opportunity for him to meet the duty lawyer from one of the bar association offices in the vicinity of the temporary detention facility, at the state’s expense ;
153.2.8. if the detainee refuses the services of a lawyer, receive his written request to that effect (if he evades writing the request, a record to that effect shall be drawn up between the lawyer and the representative of the temporary detention facility) ;
153.2.9. secure the right of any person who does not know the language of the criminal proceedings to use the services of an interpreter free of charge ;
153.2.10. not treat the detainee in a way that fails to respect his personality or dignity, and pay special attention to women and persons who are under age, elderly, ill or disabled ;
153.2.11. take the restrictive measure of arrest in respect of the detainee, and bring him to court in good time in order to ensure that the question of forcibly sending him to the place where the sentence or other final court decision is to be executed, replacing the penalty given to him with another or repealing his suspended sentence or conditional release is settled within the time limits provided for in Articles 148 and 150-152 of this Code ;
153.2.12. perform the duties prescribed in Article 161.0.1-161.0.8 and 161.0.10 of this Code.

Article 55
Rights of persons during an investigation
1. In respect of an investigation under this Statute, a person:
(d) Shall not be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention, and shall not be deprived of his or her liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are established in this Statute