Armenia will suffer major reputational losses: economist on Stockholm Arbitration Court's decision on Karapetyan family's lawsuit against Republic of Armenia (EXCLUSIVE)
YEREVAN, July 23. /ARKA/. Armenia's image in the international arena will be severely damaged, says Doctor of Economics and Professor Tatul Manaseryan in a comment to the ARKA news agency regarding the Stockholm Arbitration Court's decision on the Karapetyan family's lawsuit against the Republic of Armenia concerning the nationalization of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA).
On July 22, Samvel Karapetyan's defense council announced that Karapetyan and his family had won the urgent arbitration proceedings against the government of Armenia regarding the nationalization of ENA.
The court prohibited the government from confiscating or selling ENA assets, changing the composition of ENA management bodies, revoking its licenses, or restricting the company's business activities in any way.
In response, the Armenian government stated that appointing a temporary manager of ENA does not contradict the Stockholm Arbitration decision and aims to prevent crises and identify violations within the company.
According to Manaseryan, the international community provided a clear assessment of the situation surrounding ENA through its decision.
"I have repeatedly said that any process must take place within the framework of the law, including local and international legislation. Experience shows that no matter how subjectively or emotionally you try to make decisions, you cannot bypass the institutional framework," said Professor Manaseryan.
He emphasized the importance of complying with the laws and said that the "Nationalization" law must be adopted regardless of this case.
"There is no such law in Armenia, and nothing can happen without it," said the expert.
According to him, Armenia should develop and adopt a law that complies with international norms and the country's specifics. This law would allow state interests to be prioritized and include clauses that justify, evaluate, and propose solutions in the event of damage to national state interests. Only then could the nationalization process begin.
The expert believes that the decision regarding ENA was made arbitrarily. "We will then assess the damage caused by this process since international law has clear clauses regarding this issue," Manaseryan emphasized.
He noted that one should not act hastily or emotionally in relation to this strategically important structure; one must act with "cold judgment" in accordance with the letter of the law.
"First of all, all problems should have been discussed with the owner of ENA, which was not done. Such drastic actions could have a significant negative impact on the Armenian economy," Manaseryan concluded.-0-
