Media: Freedom of speech and the press is guaranteed in Azerbaijani law; however, the authorities notoriously limit press freedom in practice. The state controls much of the media, including the four main television stations. Azerbaijan banned foreign radio stations from broadcasting on local frequencies in 2009. Foreign stations now may only broadcast via satellite, Internet, or cable. The US Acting Deputy State Department spokesman, Gordon Duguid, said that the move would 'represent a serious setback to freedom of speech'. Some of the media outlets are controlled by family members of the President or by people close to the President. Independent and opposition papers struggle financially and are often subject to heavy fines and imprisonment of their staff. Both the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010 and Freedom House 2011 report that media freedom has deteriorated in Azerbaijan in recent years, illustrated by the arrest of several journalists in 2007, the closure of foreign-language radio stations such as the Voice of America in 2008, and the closure of the only television station that operated on a somewhat independent basis. Azerbaijan was criticised by the international community in 2007 for having the highest number of imprisoned journalists among OSCE member states. The European Parliament's human rights committee has called the press freedom situation in Azerbaijan 'unacceptable'. Reporters Without Borders 2011 ranks Azerbaijan 152nd out of 178 countries, while Freedom House 2011 ranks the country 171st out of 196 countries and describes its media environment as 'not free'.

Civil Society: In general, civic traditions in Azerbaijan are weak, although the NGO sector has been growing in recent years. NGOs sometimes face difficulties in registration. The maximum registration period for NGOs, according to Azerbaijani law, is 40 days. If there is no response from the authorities after this period, registration is granted automatically. However, the registration authorities (Ministry of Justice) are plagued by delays. Global Integrity 2009 reports that the government sometimes creates barriers to the establishment of new anti-corruption NGOs by using taxes and police enforcement. In total, the country has some 3,100 registered NGOs. However, according to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, fewer than ten percent of these NGOs are active and only a small percentage of those can be considered as genuinely effective. Political and oppositional NGOs are reportedly under consistent pressure from the authorities. In addition, NGOs working with sensitive issues encountered the strongest obstacles, from registration issues to tax controls or outright pressure and intimidation, according to Freedom House 2011.

Transparency International Azerbaijan: Transparency International Azerbaijan has issued several reports on the level of corruption in the country. Some of these have a special focus on companies. In general, Transparency International Azerbaijan is a very active player on the field, but has itself faced some problems regarding registering as an NGO with the Ministry of Justice. Transparency International Azerbaijan has set up an Advocacy and Legal Advice Center (ALAC). Under this project, a hotline has been opened for reporting instances of corruption. It is also possible to report instances of corruption via e-mail. The initiative is supported by USAID, OSCE Baku and the American Bar Association Central Europe and Eurasia Law Initiative (ABA CEELI). The ALAC has had some successes in addressing specific instances of corruption.

Fund of Struggle Against Corruption: The fund aims at eradicating corruption in Azerbaijan by carrying out research in the field of corruption. The fund administers investigations, seminars and conferences with the purpose of revealing insights into the condition of corruption in Azerbaijani society, and has made some interesting reports and surveys of SMEs and their exposure to corruption.

Anti-corruption Portal: The Anti-corruption Portal is an Internet-based portal hosted by the Internet Access and Training Program (IATP). The Anti-corruption Portal aims at implementing the first public consultation centre online to address corruption issues directly from citizens and serving as their online liaison with the Government of Azerbaijan. The purpose of this project is to try to fill the implementation gap of existing law. Observers note that one of the reasons for the lack of the realisation of the anti-corruption mechanisms is the passivity of the public and the absence of a public control mechanism towards implementing anti-corruption regulations. The aim of the portal is to educate and arm citizens in the struggle against corruption, enable their active participation in this struggle and to raise their civic awareness and legal literacy. The portal also provides free legal consultation and services for citizens.

National Confederation of Entrepreneurs Organisations (AEC): AEC is a non-governmental and non-commercial organisation that unites many entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs' associations. AEC engages in anti-corruption work.