The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan has issued a landmark Plenum decision titled "On the Protection of Personal Rights," confirming that monitoring WhatsApp correspondence without an individual's knowledge is illegal. This decision establishes a significant legal precedent regarding the inviolability of private digital communications in Azerbaijan.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, the ruling guarantees the protection of the secrecy of correspondence, including mail, telegraph, and other means of communication. The decision explicitly states: "The unlawful acquisition, use, or dissemination of a person's private correspondence without their consent is considered a violation of the right to personal privacy."
The ruling aligns with Article 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which guarantees the right to personal inviolability and the secrecy of correspondence. In recent years, the Azerbaijani judiciary has increasingly focused on adapting traditional privacy laws to the digital age, ensuring that electronic communications receive the same level of legal protection as physical mail. This move is seen as a critical step in modernizing the country's legal framework to address contemporary cybersecurity and human rights challenges.
When can correspondence be accessed?
However, the court emphasized that this right is not absolute. The inviolability of private correspondence may only be restricted in accordance with the law for the purposes of preventing crime or uncovering the truth during a criminal investigation.
Use of correspondence as evidence in court
During the resolution of legal disputes, parties may only present correspondence between themselves as evidence to a court or other authorized bodies, such as mediation or arbitration services. However, a third party cannot use correspondence between two other individuals as evidence in their own legal dispute.
The Plenum of the Supreme Court specifically noted that sharing or disseminating any correspondence via media or internet networks without the consent of the other party is strictly prohibited. This regulation aims to prevent the unauthorized leak of private data and protects citizens from potential defamation or privacy breaches in the digital sphere.
