Rules against those who evade military service are being tightened.
This was reported to “Elchi” by the State Service for Mobilization and Conscription.
It was stated that with the aim of timely and effective prevention of cases of evasion from conscription for fixed-term active military service, a law dated December 27, 2024, was adopted regarding amendments to relevant legislative acts of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including the Criminal, Migration, and Administrative Offenses Codes, and the laws “On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization in the Republic of Azerbaijan” and “On Military Duty and Military Service”. According to the amendment made to the Criminal Code by this law, “evasion from conscription” refers to citizens failing to appear for medical examination (certification), fixed-term active military service, training camps, and military service under mobilization without valid reasons.
In addition, amendments have been made to the Migration Code regarding the temporary restriction of citizens’ right to leave the country until a decision on conscription is made against them, if they evade conscription for fixed-term active military service and military service under mobilization.
These changes have already been reflected in the Plenum’s decision dated January 23, 2026, on “Amendments to the Supreme Court Plenum’s Decision No. 1 dated November 1, 2001, on ‘Judicial Practice in Cases of Evasion from Military Service, Unauthorized Abandonment of a Military Unit or Place of Service, and Desertion’.”
Thus, the Plenum’s decision outlines several actions that lead to liability under Article 321.1 of the Criminal Code. If a citizen fails to appear at the local main departments, departments, divisions, and sections of the State Service for Mobilization and Conscription for medical certification, military gatherings, and training without valid reasons, or before the end of the conscription period for active military service, it is considered evasion from military service and leads to liability.
Furthermore, if a conscript changes their place of residence for more than 3 months before the end of the current conscription period applicable to them, in order to evade military service, including preventing the delivery of a conscription notice for medical examination (medical certification) or fixed-term active military service, and fails to deregister from military registration at their previous place of residence and register at their current location, or fails to inform the local main departments, departments, divisions, and sections of the State Service for Mobilization and Conscription where they are registered for military service when changing their place of residence, in violation of their duty specified in Article 7.3 of the Law “On Military Duty and Military Service”, these actions may also be evaluated as acts leading to liability under Article 321 of the Criminal Code.
We would like to inform our citizens belonging to the above-mentioned categories, both within and outside the country, who do not have an active deferment right, to approach their military duties and obligations responsibly, and to report to the structural units of the State Service where they are registered at the time specified in their military IDs and personal accounts on the “mygov” platform. The improvement of legislation in the military field aims to strengthen the country’s national security, timely and qualitatively staff the Armed Forces with conscripts, and increase the efficiency of the mobilization system.