Vladimir Vardanyan, Chair of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs and member of the Civil Contract party, commented on Armenia’s loss in the international arbitration concerning the nationalization of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA). Speaking to Pastinfo, Vardanyan stated he has not yet reviewed the arbitration decision and cannot fully comment on it.
“The only thing I know is this: it turns out that Samvel Karapetyan, the Armenian philanthropist, is a citizen of Cyprus. Seriously? He filed a lawsuit against Armenia as a Cypriot citizen? That’s all I can conclude or rhetorically question at this moment — I’ll comment further after reading the decision,” he said.
It was earlier reported that on July 22, the emergency arbitration tribunal of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce ordered Armenia to suspend implementation of recently adopted legislation targeting ENA. The contested laws relate to the Energy Law and the Public Services Regulatory Commission Law, as well as the subsequent steps toward nationalization of ENA.
The arbitration concluded that urgent measures were necessary, citing concerns over Armenia's compliance with the bilateral investment treaty between Armenia and Cyprus.
The ruling noted that if the claimants lose control or ownership of ENA, they are unlikely to receive full compensation for their losses without interim relief.
This emergency ruling is binding for the Armenian government.
Vladimir Vardanyan is one of the authors of the disputed legislative package.
