Azerbaijan has filed a second lawsuit against Armenia at the Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration, demanding full compensation for alleged mass destruction of the environment and wildlife. According to the Azerbaijani government, deforestation, mining, and the construction of hydroelectric power plants in Nagorno-Karabakh have caused severe environmental damage.
In an interview with Azatutyun Radiokayan, Siranush Sahakyan, head of the Center for International and Comparative Law, expressed the opinion that there is a great contradiction between Azerbaijan's words and deeds.
"Since Azerbaijan expresses its wishes that the disputes not be resolved on legal platforms, and also exerts pressure in that direction, it would be desirable for it to follow that approach and not consistently push forward legal processes. We see a truly contradictory policy here, on the one hand, they accuse Armenia of making legal demands, characterizing legal disputes as obstacles to the peace process, and on the other hand, they very strategically push forward their legal processes against the Republic of Armenia," said Siranush Sahakyan.
Baku notified the start of this arbitration proceeding two years ago, and on February 12, the main claim was filed, according to Sahakyan, within the established deadline.
“Political processes are not the best reasons to justify the postponement of deadlines in the courts, here Azerbaijan would have to bear a disproportionate burden, but the other option is that Azerbaijan would not file its main claim within the established deadline, which would signal Azerbaijan’s approach of not pursuing the case, which, in my opinion, would be more in line with political rhetoric.”
Currently, Armenia and Azerbaijan have filed five lawsuits against each other in international courts. However, at the Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration, Armenia has not initiated any claims against Azerbaijan and is only a respondent in two cases.
In its first arbitration lawsuit, Baku demanded financial compensation from Yerevan for the alleged illegal exploitation of Nagorno-Karabakh’s energy resources and the export of electricity to Armenia.