Economic and Legal Assessment of Illicit Activities during the Occupation of Karabakh and its Adjacent Districts
Adalat MURADOV
Nargiz HAJIYEVA
Abstract. This study investigates the illegal exploitation of natural resources, the export, and import of goods and products carried out by Armenia during the occupation of Karabakh and the surrounding areas. The current legal and economic assessments of the property rights belonging to Azerbaijani lands are thoroughly conducted upon their liberation from the occupation. This topic, which has not previously been the subject of research, is highly relevant both in terms of the value of the analysis and the practicality of the subject matter. In the study, the economic and legal aspects of the actions carried out by Armenia during the occupation and the clear-cut measures taken by Azerbaijan following the liberation of Karabakh and surrounding areas are comparatively analyzed. Within the scope of international politics and based on geographical boundaries, the regulation of intellectual property and property rights in the occupied territories has become a critical problem in terms of the illegal use of goods and other resources. By actively supporting illicit activities in the formerly occupied territories of Azerbaijan, Armenia not only relieved its ongoing financial difficulties but also benefited economically from the exploitation of resources in the occupied territories by importing more than 90 percent (%)
of agricultural and mineral products and exporting mislabeled resources and goods abroad. As such, the economic and legal consequences of intellectual property and natural resource exploitation are inextricably connected to the development of the political and security circumstances in Karabakh and its seven nearby districts.
Keywords: Azerbaijan, Armenia, intellectual property, illegal activities, Karabakh, the liberation of Azerbaijani territories, property rights