Ignoring the decision of international arbitration by Armenian government harms the country's image - former ombudsman
YEREVAN, July 25. /ARKA/. Ignoring the decision of the Stockholm arbitration tribunal that has blocked the Armenian government from proceeding with plans to nationalize the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), owned by Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan is a path to arbitrariness seriously harming the international reputation of the Republic of Armenia, says a former human rights defender Arman Tatoyan.
Karapetyan was arrested in June on accusations of calling for a power seizure after he publicly supported the Armenian Apostolic Church in its conflict with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s administration. Following the arrest, Pashinyan declared it was time to nationalize Karapetyan’s company, Electric Netwroks of Armenia, and the Armenian parliament passed laws allowing the state to seize it.
In response, the Karapetyan family filed a lawsuit at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), citing a 1995 bilateral investment treaty between Armenia and Cyprus.
On Tuesday, the SCC ruled that Armenia must halt any efforts to enforce the new legislation or confiscate the company, warning that such actions would hinder the family’s ability to recover damages if they lose control. This ruling is binding on the Armenian government.
Tatoyan claims that the Armenian government is demonstrating its reluctance to fulfill the international agreements signed by the country and the obligations assumed to protect international investors if these obligations are personally or politically unfavorable to the head of government.
According to him, the Prime Minister of Armenia has already expressed his personal attitude towards the process around the ENA, thereby effectively putting a stamp of lawlessness on the entire process.
“One of the propaganda statements of the authorities is the assertion that the refusal to implement the decision of the Arbitration Institute is dictated by the need to protect the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia. It turns out that if any decision of an international court (for example, the European Court of Human Rights) does not please the Prime Minister or is assessed by him as threatening his power, it may not be implemented. Such an approach seriously damages Armenia’s international reputation, especially in the context of attracting foreign investment,” Tatoyan said.
According to him, the process showed that state institutions actually did not work, adding that this became possible because a one-man government and a party state have been established in Armenia.
He noted that the solution is obvious - the Armenian court should simply decide on the execution of the arbitration decision without delving into its content. The court can reject the execution only if the decision violates public order. -0-
