Deadline for application of Law on Enforcement Proceedings to be  extended

ArmInfo.  The deadline for the application of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings will be extended in Armenia. At its session on April 14, the Committee on State and Legal Affairs of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia issued a positive opinion on the amendments to the above-mentioned law and a large package of related legislative acts submitted by the Government of the Republic of Armenia in the first reading.

According to Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia  Gevork Kocharyan, if the deadline for the application of the new  system was previously set from July 1, 2025, then with the adoption  of the package they will be extended until January 1, 2026. In  parallel with this, the deadline for the implementation and  integration of communication channels of the Judicial Acts  Enforcement Service with other agencies will be set for March 1, 2025  instead of September 1, 2025. The reason for extending the deadline  was that the current electronic notification system has not yet  started to operate at full capacity.

The reforms of the judicial and legal system established rules  arising from the nature of enforcement proceedings as a special type  of administrative proceedings, provisions aimed at the efficiency of  proceedings, expansion of the range of inspections, revision of the  procedure and amount of calculation of expenses for enforcement  proceedings, amounts subject to confiscation, not only based on its  size, but also on the volume and features of enforcement actions  performed within the framework of a specific enforcement proceeding.  In addition, new mechanisms have been created that will ensure the  compulsory execution of acts subject to compulsory execution in a  short time. In particular, within the framework of enforcement  proceedings, it is planned to conduct inspections and extend  confiscation to unaccounted money transfers, individual bank cells  and unregistered inherited property, funds in the accounts of payment  and settlement organizations, accounts in online games and other  similar accounts.

Thus, to summarize, it can be said that the mechanisms laid down in  the Law "On the Compulsory Execution of Judicial Acts", adopted in  1998 and currently in force, have been radically changed, so their  application in practice will also imply the large-scale introduction  of electronic tools. The need for this is due to the fact that the  Service processes more than two million enforcement proceedings  annually and the only option to ensure their proper execution, given  the current number of bailiffs, is the introduction and operation of  appropriate electronic means. In 2023, the Service developed and put  into operation the Unified Electronic System for Managing Enforcement  Proceedings, on the basis of which the full digitalization of  enforcement proceedings was carried out. However, in 2024, the proper  implementation of the law, adopted and entering into force on July 1,  2025, involves a number of changes, additions and the introduction of  new software modules and subsystems into the existing system. At the  same time, the introduction of new electronic means implies not only  the re-equipment of the electronic system operating in the Service,  but also the introduction of corresponding electronic means in other  bodies or their combination with existing systems. For example,  according to the law, within the framework of enforcement  proceedings, it is envisaged, among other things, to send electronic  requests to all payment and settlement organizations, notary offices  and to receive responses from the latter also in electronic form.  In  addition, in order to facilitate the work of the courts, the new law  abolished the institution of the writ of execution, and instead, the  Service, having received a citizen's application in electronic form,  must personally download the corresponding court decision from the  judicial system.

Thus, from the above it is obvious that today, in the context of an  unprecedented quantitative increase in judicial and other law  enforcement acts, the digitalization of all new processes arising  from the law has become imperative. Accordingly, it became necessary  to provide a certain period for the implementation of electronic  tools both in the Service and in all courts, notary offices and other  state bodies operating in the Republic of Armenia. It should be noted  that after the adoption of the law, taking into account the final  regulatory acts, the Service prepared a draft technical specification  for the proposed new system and submitted it to the Ministry of  High-Tech Industry in accordance with the established procedure. In  case of a positive conclusion on the project, which will include not  only the maintenance of the current system, but also the  implementation of large-scale changes arising from the Law, it is  planned to announce a competition. The winning company will ensure  the implementation of general digitalization works. Thus, taking into  account that the entire process described is time-consuming (for  example, the tender lasts at least one month), there is a serious  risk that from July 1, 2025, it will not be possible to properly  implement the adopted law. For this reason, it is proposed to extend  the terms of its application.