Your trusted source

The Azerbaijani authorities will eventually have to comply with the order of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to end the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) roadblock, lawyer Siranush Sahakyan said, referring to Baku’s reaction to the court ruling.

The United Nations’ top court on Wednesday ordered Azerbaijan to restore unimpeded traffic through the Lachin Corridor, the sole road connecting Artsakh to Armenia.

"Azerbaijan's political statement fits into its foreign policy line. Regardless of the authority of the court or the validity of judicial acts, Azerbaijan always rejects them," she told a conference on the 35th anniversary of the Karabakh movement in Yerevan on Friday.

Sahakyan has represented Armenian citizens affected by Azerbaijan's actions in several cases before the ECHR. She has also defended the rights of Armenian captives held in Baku.

The lawyer says Azerbaijan constantly tells the international court that it is not ready to implement court rulings concerning Nagorno-Karabakh if they are inconsistent with Baku’s policy.

"We should assess what resources Azerbaijan has for its refusal to execute the acts of an international court. It’s not only about the UN court, but also the European Court. We have a set of judicial acts as well as political statements. I believe Azerbaijan does not have enough resources not to implement the court orders for a long time," she said.

Sahakyan claims Azerbaijan will try to delay the implementation of the court rulings and step up pressure on the Armenian authorities to get them to sign documents to their advantage.

“I believe the legal acts will eventually be implemented under pressure from the international community," she said.