Armenia`s disregard for Stockholm Arbitration`s decision to cause  huge damage to Armenia`s international reputation

ArmInfo.  The Armenian authorities' ignoring of the decision of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) on the case of the "nationalization" of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) CJSC  seriously damages the country's international reputation, especially  in terms of attracting international investment. A similar opinion  was expressed by the former Ombudsman of Armenia, head of the Tatoyan  Foundation Arman Tatoyan.

As Tatoyan wrote on his Facebook page, the government's position of  July 23 demonstrates that international treaties signed by Armenia to  protect foreign investment can be ignored if they do not suit the  head of government for personal or political reasons.

"Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has already shown his  attitude to the ENA process, stating that for him it is a matter of  preserving the "taste of the state in the mouths of some people."  Thus, he has put the seal of lawlessness on the entire process. One  of the directions of the authorities' propaganda is the assertion  that the failure to implement the Stockholm Arbitration decision is  happening in the name of Armenia's sovereignty. However, such logic,  in fact, opens the door to arbitrariness," Tatoyan noted. 

As the former ombudsman explained, the authorities' actions  demonstrate that any decision of the International Court, for  example, the European Court of Human Rights, which the Armenian Prime  Minister does not like or is perceived as a threat to his power, can  be ignored. "This process has shown that state institutions as a  whole do not function. This became possible due to the establishment  of personal and party power in the Republic of Armenia," the head of  the Tatoyan Foundation noted.

Touching upon the reasons why the Armenian authorities accompany the  ENA processes with propaganda about the issue's connection with  public security, Tatoyan explained that the court can refuse to  enforce the decision only if it contradicts public order. "Meanwhile,  Pashinyan has already demonstrated that this has personal and,  accordingly, political significance for him," the former ombudsman  summed up.

Recall that the head of the Tashir Group of Companies, Samvel  Karapetyan, and his family won an arbitration dispute against the  Armenian government in the case of nationalization of the ENA. The  case was heard at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber  of Commerce (SCC) on the basis of the Agreement between Armenia and  Cyprus on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments of  January 18, 1995. The court ruled that Armenia must refrain from  implementing the amendments recently adopted by parliament to the  laws on Energy and on the Public Services Regulatory Authority, as  well as from any further steps aimed at seizing ENA assets.

However, the Armenian government has stated that the Stockholm  arbitration ruling will not be implemented. In a statement, the  Armenian cabinet emphasized, in particular: "While respecting the  interim measures applied by foreign arbitration awards, everyone must  be guided by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and  international treaties establishing the rules and procedures for the  recognition and enforcement of arbitration awards."