Armenian law ( hy, Հայ իրավունք), that being the modern Legal system of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի իրավական համակարգ), is a system of law acted in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

History of law in Armenia

The modern legal system of Armenia was founded on 21 September 1991 following the

1991 Armenian independence referendum An independence referendum was held in the Armenia SSR on 21 September 1991 to determine whether to secede from the Soviet Union. It followed a declaration of independence on 23 August 1990. 99.5% of voters voted in favour, with a turnout of 95%. ...

and by the country's declaration of

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

on 23 September 1991. For the evolution of Armenian law this phase was a turning point in the nation’s historical development, because it marked the beginning of the establishment of an independent, sustainable legal system guaranteeing

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

and freedoms, legitimate interests, and welfare of citizens. The highest legal document of Armenian state and society – the

Constitution of Armenia The Constitution of Armenia was adopted by a nationwide Armenian referendum on July 5, 1995. This constitution established Armenia as a democratic, sovereign, social, and constitutional state. Yerevan is defined as the state's capital. Power is ...

– was approved following the 5 July 1995

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. The legal system of Armenia shares the patterns and characteristics that describe the legal systems of other civil law countries. The Constitution of Armenia is based on the model of the French Constitution, and several principal aspects of the

Civil Code A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core ar ...

of Armenia depict the model code of civil law elaborated for the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

. In previous years, the impact of German administrative legislation on the development of the relevant legal framework of Armenia has been noted. The legal system being built on new ideological and institutional merits continues to bear influence on various practices inherent to the legal procedures of former

Republics of the Soviet Union The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were National delimitation in the Soviet Union, national-based administrative units of ...

. Constitutional justice in Armenia is carried out by the Constitutional Court of Armenia, and by virtue of the article 92 of Constitution and the article 15th of Judicial Code it is the Cassation Court of Armenia which is vested in the formation of predictable and consistent jurisprudence. Armenia is a

secular state A secular state is an idea pertaining to secularity, whereby a State (polity), state is or purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. A secular state claims to treat all its citizens ...

, which presupposes regulation of public relationships solely by the state enacted legal acts. However, the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

played and continues to play an essential role in the protection of humanitarian values constituting an indivisible part of the moral-physiological foundations of the Armenian legal system. For the aforementioned reason the wording of article 8.1 of the Armenian Constitution states: "The Republic of Armenia recognizes the exclusive historical mission of the Armenian Apostolic Church as a national church, in the spiritual life, development of the national culture and preservation of the national identity of the people of Armenia."

Legal system of Armenia and international cooperation

Armenia participates in several bilateral and multilateral international treaties. International

agreements Agreement may refer to: Agreements between people and organizations * Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law * Trade agreement, between countries * Consensus, a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of law ** Meeting of ...

become a constitutive part of the Armenian legal system when they are ratified or

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

by the relevant national authorities. Moreover, the wording of Article 6 of the Constitution indicates: "If a ratified international treaty stipulates norms other than those stipulated in the laws, the norms of the treaty shall prevail. International treaties contradicting Constitution cannot be ratified." Armenia is a member of several international treaties in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Including the following: * European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment *

European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), or the Genocide Convention, is an international treaty that criminalizes genocide and obligates state parties to pursue the enforcement of its prohibition. It was ...

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...

Armenia is also a contracting party of the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

and the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

. A comprehensive list of international treaties the Republic of Armenia has acceded/ratified may be found in the following ''Human Rights'', 3rd edition.

The system of law

The system of Armenian law is another component of the legal system. It comprises the structural elements such as norms,

institutes An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

, and branches that are classified based on various criteria. Thereby the branches of law are usually classified into public and private law or substantive and procedural. The branches of Armenian Law are divided under the classification criteria of substantive and procedural law:

Substantive law

:Constitutional Law :Civil Law :Criminal Law :Administrative Law :Financial Law :Labor Law :Environmental Law :Land Law :Customs Law :Family Law :Penitentiary Law

Procedural law

:Civil Procedure Law :Criminal Procedure Law :Administrative Procedure Law

The system of legislation

The system of

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...

encompasses all the relevant legal acts regulating public and private relations within that legal system. The term "system of legislation" is applied broadly to refer to various legal acts of Armenia and, in a narrow definition, to refer to the laws adopted by the National Assembly of Armenia. All acts of the Armenian legal system are available o
arlis
Alphabetically classified laws are available via the web-page of th
National Assembly of Armenia
The laws enacted before 2001 are available in English and Russian translations. The decisions of the Constitutional Court are available o
Constitutional Court of Armenia

Recent developments

On 24 November 2017, Armenia and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

finalized the

Armenia–EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement The Armenia–EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement or CEPA is a partnership agreement between the European Union and Armenia. The agreement advances the bilateral relations between the European Union and Armenia to a new, partnersh ...

. The agreement advances the bilateral relations between the European Union and Armenia to a new, partnership level and regulates cooperation in political and economic sectors. The agreement is also designed to bring Armenian laws and regulations gradually closer to the

EU acquis The Community acquis or ''acquis communautaire'' (; ), sometimes called the EU acquis and often shortened to acquis, is the accumulated legislation, legal acts and court decisions that constitute the body of European Union law that came into b ...

. The agreement contains provisions to support policy and legal reforms, while strengthening the

rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...

and

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

in Armenia.

References

External links

National Assembly of ArmeniaThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights
* ttp://www.cpt.coe.int/en/documents/ecpt.htm European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishmentbr>European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental FreedomsLegislation on the Independence of the Judiciary in ArmeniaArmenia
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