"This is a study of legal issues on Nagorno-Karabagh. It does not intend to cover the political and historical aspects; it will instead cover issues of law as they affected Karabagh in pre-Soviet period, in the period of Sovietization, and under Perestroika. It will also examine the issues of sovereignty of Nagorno-Karabagh according to the laws of the former USSR, the compliance of Azerbaijan's domestic legislation on Nagorno-Karabagh and the establishment of the independent state of Nagorno-Karabagh with the principles of international law"--Forword

"Since a proper understanding of Nagorno-Karabagh problem is complicated both by geopolitical changes and by frequent and deliberate misinterpretation and misrepresentation of Karabagh's history and legal status, we aim at presenting a brief overview of the issue from a legal point of view and demonstrate that Nagorno-Karabagh has never been part of independent Azerbaijan. Even a brief study of the legal background of the problem provides a basis to believe that Nagorno-Karabagh, apart from its historic and cultural rights, also has full legal foundations inits claims for independence or reunification with Armenia"--Forword