AZE.US
Can a person be fined for smoking while walking on the street or in a park in Azerbaijan? The question has become more common after some residents said they were stopped and fined in open public areas.
Several citizens claim they were approached by police officers while smoking outdoors and were told that smoking while walking was illegal. In some cases, they said they were fined 30 manats, or about $18.
One resident said he was smoking in an open area when a man in civilian clothes approached him, introduced himself as a police officer, showed his ID and said that smoking in the open air was unlawful. According to the resident, a fine was then issued.
Another citizen said police approached him while he was smoking near his workplace and told him that smoking while walking in Icherisheher was not allowed. He said he was told that smoking was permitted only near trash bins.
Legal experts, however, say that smoking on an ordinary street or while walking in an open area is not in itself grounds for an administrative penalty, unless the person is in a place where smoking is clearly banned by law.
If a citizen disagrees with an administrative protocol, they have the right to appeal it through the relevant authority or take the matter to court. In such cases, the citizen may argue that the protocol was drawn up without legal grounds.
Under Article 10 of Azerbaijan’s law on limiting the use of tobacco products, smoking is prohibited in educational, medical and rehabilitation institutions, sports facilities and venues where mass events are held, as well as restaurants, cafes, bars, trade and service facilities.
The ban also applies to theaters, cinemas, circus buildings, exhibition halls, reading rooms, libraries, museums and other cultural venues.
Smoking is prohibited at children’s playgrounds, closed overground and underground pedestrian crossings, buses, taxis, passenger transport vehicles, metro station vestibules, passages, platforms and train cars.
The restriction also covers railway trains, aircraft and water transport, administrative buildings at airports and seaports, railway and bus stations, bus stops, elevators and common areas of apartment buildings.
Smoking is also banned at workplaces and in institutions, enterprises and organizations regardless of ownership type.
The fine for smoking in prohibited places is 30 manats, or about $18. Throwing tobacco product waste into the environment can result in a much higher fine of 300 manats, or about $176.
In other words, smoking on a regular street or in an open part of a park is not automatically a violation. A fine may apply only if the person is smoking in a place where the law directly prohibits it.
AZE.US