The Impact of Tourism on the Right to Sustainable
Development in Azerbaijani Legislation
Asgar Abdullayev
Abstract. The article examines, from a legal perspective, how Azerbaijani legislation shapes the impact of tourism on the right to sustainable development. The study proceeds from the premise that this right is not expressly codified in Azerbaijani law as an autonomous subjective right, but is derived from constitutional guarantees related to a healthy environment, cultural participation, free enterprise, and the duty to protect the environment and historical monuments. Using formal legal and systematic interpretation, the paper analyzes the Constitution, the 2021 Law on Tourism, environmental impact assessment legislation, and legal acts on cultural and natural heritage protection. It is argued that the current legal framework recognizes sustainable and resilient tourism as a normative objective and incorporates environmental and heritage safeguards into tourism governance. At the same time, the article shows that the existing framework remains fragmented and does not yet provide a fully articulated rights-based model of sustainable tourism. Particular attention is paid to legal gaps concerning local community participation, cumulative ecological impact, climate-sensitive tourism regulation, and enforceable sustainability standards in tourism and recreation zones. The article concludes that Azerbaijani legislation has established a meaningful legal basis for aligning tourism with sustainable development, but further legislative refinement is required to transform this basis into a coherent and enforceable legal regime.
Keywords: right to sustainable development, tourism law, Azerbaijani legislation, tourism and recreation zones, environmental protection