Article 11 Territory
(1) The territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan is sole, inviolable and indivisible.
(2) Internal waters of the Republic of Azerbaijan, sector of the Caspian Sea (lake) belonging to the Republic of Azerbaijan, air space over the Republic of Azerbaijan are integral parts of the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
(3) No part of territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan may be estranged. The Republic of Azerbaijan will not give any part of its territory to anybody; state borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan might be changed only by free decision of its peoples made by way of referendum declared by the Parliament [Milli Majlis] of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
1. Location
Azerbaijan is located in the south-eastern part of the Caucasian isthmus, with a coast of 825 kilometers along the Caspian Sea. Much of the country is mountainous. The Greater Caucasian range rises to the north, and Bazarduzu (4,480 m) is the highest peak. Below the mountains lies the Kura-Araz lowland. The Republic of Azerbaijan is 86,000 square kilometers in area, including the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Azerbaijan’s northern border with the Russian Federation is 390 kilometers long. The longest border is with the Republic of Armenia to the west, 1,009 kilometers long. To the north-west the border with Georgia stretches to 480 kilometers. To the south-west, in Nakhchivan, the border with the Turkish Republic is only
twelve kilometers long. To the south, Azerbaijan, including Nakhchivan, lias a 765 kilometer-long border with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
2. Administrative Division
Azerbaijan is located on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, in the east of South Caucasus. The northern frontier of the state with Russia (Daghestan) stretches from the coast of the Caspian to the Greater Caucasus Mountains; the northwestern boundary with Georgia being formed by complicated configuration of the mountains; the boundary with the Islamic Republic of Iran to south runs alongside the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the Araz river to the Caspian coast with its humid subtropical climate. Azerbaijan is bordered by Turkey to the southwest and by Armenia to the west.
The territory of the state as a whole can be pictured as a giant tray tilted towards the Caspian Sea. This causes all the rivers of Azerbaijan to flow into that sea. Some of them join the major river Kura, some flow into Araz, the largest tributary of the Kura. There are about 250 lakes in Azerbaijan. Geigel Lake, a pearl of exceptional beauty framed by wooded mountains, is located in the foothills of the Kapaz Mountains at a height of 1,556 meters above sea level. Caspian Sea, the largest lake in the world (378,400 square km water surface), is unique at its origins and has a rich biodiversity. Its fauna comprises 1,332 species. 111 fish species live in the Caspian including sturgeon, salmon, Danube bleak, bream, herring and other fish. There are many seals near the Azerbaijani coastland, which, being the only mammal in the Caspian, are under the protection of the Absheron reserve.
Azerbaijan is divided into into 76 administrative districts (65 rural rayon and 11 cities), and the President appoints the governors of these units. Local Executive power in these administrative districts is implemented by the Heads of the Local Executive power. Heads of Executive power are appointed to and removed from their positions by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Towns in Azerbaijan that have the formal status of cities of the Republic are Baku, Ganja, Sumgait, Shirvan (former Ali-Bayramli), Lankaran, Mingechevir, Naftalan, Khankendi, Sheki, Kuba and Shusha.