CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE IN ARMENIA
This article will provide guidance on the Code of Civil Procedure in Armenia. Armenia's legal system originated in and continues to exhibit many of the features and characteristics of a civil law system. The Constitution of Armenia was modeled after the Constitution of France, and the Code of Civil Procedure in Armenia closely mirrors the model code of civil law developed for the Commonwealth of Independent States in several key respects. It is clear that German administrative law also has affected the evolution of Armenia's relevant legal framework in recent years. Click here for How the Hague Convention Simplifies International Process Service.
BACKGROUND
The Constitutional Court of Armenia is responsible for administering constitutional justice. At the same time, the Cassation Court of Armenia is charged with creating a clear and consistent law by Article 92 of the Constitution and Article 15 of the Judicial Code. Click here for information on How To Identify A Good Process Service Agency.
Since Armenia is a secular state, it is assumed that only laws passed by the government may regulate public interactions. However, the Armenian Apostolic Church has played a part in this. It plays a crucial role in protecting humanitarian ideals as an inseparable component of Armenian law's moral and physiological underpinnings in the absence of Armenian sovereignty. Click here for information on How Rush Process Service Can Expedite Your Case.
RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN JUDGEMENTS IN ARMENIA
The method for recognizing and enforcing foreign judgments is in the Code of Civil Procedure in Armenia and the Law on Compulsory Enforcement of Judicial Acts. Judgments issued in other countries are recognized and enforceable in Armenia under several bilateral and international treaties. There are also several bilateral agreements governing various areas of the recognition and enforcement process that Armenia has signed with other governments. Judgments are recognized and enforced based on reciprocity under the Code of Civil Procedure in Armenia if no appropriate bilateral or multilateral agreement exists. Click here for information on How Service of Process Ensures A Solid Foundation.
Cases involving the recognition of foreign judgments may be heard in the first instance by courts of universal jurisdiction. The Ministry of Justice's Judicial Acts Compulsory Enforcement Agency is responsible for carrying out enforcement actions once a judgment has been issued. According to Article 349 of the Code of Civil Procedure in Armenia, the foreign judgment recognition and execution application must be submitted to the court where the debtor resides. The application must be submitted to the court in the location of the debtor's property if the debtor does not have a fixed address in Armenia or if the debtor's address is unknown. Click here for information on How Process Servers Protect Your Rights: Myths Debunked
Two court judgments are listed in Article 346 of the Code of Civil Procedure in Armenia as being eligible for recognition and enforcement, being [A.] criminal judgments in situations involving compensation for harm due to crime and [B.] decisions on obtaining a claim.
Armenian courts must recognize non-enforceable foreign decisions under Article 358(2) of their Code of Civil Procedure in Armenia.
When a foreign decision is to be enforced, its binding power is the most critical factor. Decisions that may be appealed and have not yet become final are not recognized in Armenia. The judgment will be enforceable in Armenia, however, if it is judged to be in effect regardless of the possibility of appeal under the relevant foreign law of the country in which the decision was made. Within three years after the date on which the foreign judgment got into legal force according to the legislation of the foreign state in which it was issued, it may be presented to a competent Armenian court for recognition and execution.
The defendant has no independent grounds for contesting the recognition and execution of a foreign decision under the Code of Civil Procedure in Armenia. The defendant, however, may file a motion to dismiss the application based on the grounds for dismissal of an application for recognition of a foreign decision as out in Article 354 of the Code of Civil Procedure in Armenia.
The municipal court may deny the application for recognition and enforcement for any of the reasons listed in the Code of Civil Procedure. The court has no authority to evaluate the foreign court's national jurisdiction. However, suppose the matter in which the foreign judgment was issued is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Armenian courts or does not fall within the international jurisdiction of the foreign court. In that case, the court must reject the application for recognition and enforcement of the foreign judgment.
Courts are required to deny requests for recognition and execution of foreign judgments under Article 354 of the Code of Civil Procedure in Armenia if the decision is not enforceable under the law of the state it was issued or its acceptance and execution would harm the public order in Armenia. Judgments are only enforceable by the state laws in which they were issued. Thus, the court must first determine whether or not they are valid under those laws.
EVIDENCE IN ARMENIA
The court may order an expert examination at the request of a party or on its initiative if it determines that the issues at trial need specialist expertise. Upon a party's motion, the other side must pay for the expert's examination. The court should bear the expenses of any expert witness testimony or examination requested by the court at the parties' request.
A party to a lawsuit may submit questions for the court to consider during the expert testimony phase. The court decides whether or not to undertake an expert examination, and the questions and their substance are outlined. Participants in the case are allowed to question experts to determine whether or not they have sufficient expertise in the relevant area.
Suppose the court determines that the expert's findings are ambiguous or inadequate. In that case, it may order a further investigation of the evidence by the method outlined in Article 60 of the Code of Civil Procedure in Armenia.
PROCEEDINGS AND COSTS IN COURT.
Fees and expenses for legal proceedings are broken out in Article 68. Legal fees include the state-mandated amount and the amounts owed for the expert witness, the witness summons, the on-site inspection of the evidence, and any other expenditures associated with the trial.
If the amount being sued increases, the difference between the original amount and the amount the state will impose will be paid when the judgment is finalized. If the sum being sued goes down, the state levy will still be due even though it has already been paid.
Statutes of limitations expressed in years will run out on the last day of the last month of the statute of limitations. Any legal action with a deadline specified in months will run out on the final day of that month. Time limits are shown in months that run until their final day unless the last day of the month falls on a weekend or holiday. If the last day of the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the preceding business day will be considered the deadline's expiry day. The deadline for completing court-related tasks is midnight on the last day of the allotted period.
First, the parties to the case are advised of the court session's date, time, and location or execution of court functions by a court summons. Court summonses are also issued to specialists, translators, and witnesses. The summons must be delivered in person or sent by registered mail with the requested return receipt. The summons must be delivered to the address provided by the party involved in the case.
SERVING A DEFENDANT IN ARMENIA
If the defendants are located in separate provinces, the plaintiff may file the case in the court where one of the defendants resides. If the defendant cannot be traced, the case might be filed in the court with jurisdiction over their property or his last known place of abode (whereabouts). If the site of implementation is specified in the agreement, the court in that location has jurisdiction over any legal disputes that may arise.
The plaintiff need not physically live within the court's jurisdiction where the action to collect alimony or establish paternity is filed. A divorce action may be filed in the court where the plaintiff resides even if the defendant is absent or mentally incapacitated, has been condemned to prison, or if the plaintiff has custody of a minor child or children. The court of the plaintiff's residence hears cases involving claims of wrongful conviction, criminal liability, use of arrest to secure presence, refusal to leave, rehabilitation of labor and other rights due to damage caused by the appointment of an administrative fine, return of the property, or its value.
The complaint may include additional information, such as the plaintiff's motions, if they are relevant to the proper resolution of the decision. The plaintiff is allowed to combine many requests that are all closely connected into one complaint. If the same parties are involved in many cases, the court may consolidate them into a single hearing. The court may split consolidated claims into individual lawsuits if it chooses to do so. The court follows rules on whether the cases should be joined together or if the requests should be split apart.
The judge is the only one who may decide whether or not to accept the complaint. The judge must hear the case in which the complaint was filed by the requirements set out in this Code. The court then rules on whether or not to accept the complaint, at which point a trial date and location are set.
The court must rule on whether or not to dismiss the complaint no later than three days after it is received. The complaint is accepted if a decision is not made within the allotted time frame. Finally, the plaintiff receives a copy of the ruling, the complaint, and other relevant papers.
After receiving the ruling, the plaintiff has three days to appeal to the court's chairman for a review if dissatisfied with the outcome. The chairman of the court reviews the application, and if the case is in the proceedings of the chairman of the court, by another judge, within three days. The outcome of the application review is used to make a decision.
OUR PROCESS
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Sources
1. Due to the aforementioned, Article 8.1 of the Armenian Constitution reads as follows: "...The Republic of Armenia recognizes the exclusive historical mission of the Armenian Apostolic Holy 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."
2. Judgments made by the courts of member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States are governed by, for instance, the Chisinau Convention on Legal Aid and Legal Relations in Civil, Family, and Criminal Matters (7 October 2002); and the Minsk Convention on Legal Aid and Legal Relations in Civil, Family, and Criminal Matters (7 October 2002). (22 January 1993).
3. An application for recognition and execution must be submitted to the court where the person making the application resides, even if the foreign judgment does not presume enforcement activities against the debtor or necessitate enforcement. According to Article 25 of the Code of Civil Procedure, if an application for recognition and execution is filed with a court that does not have jurisdiction over the matter, that court shall forward the matter to the appropriate court for consideration.
4. Among them are foreign judgments on the divorce between foreign citizens or declaring a marriage invalid; foreign judgments on the divorce between citizens of Armenia and foreign citizens or persons with no citizenship, where one of the spouses at the time of the divorce has been permanently or mostly residing on the territory of the state whose court has issued the judgment; foreign judgments on the divorce between citizens of Armenia and foreign citizens or persons with no citizenship, where one of the spouses has been a resident of that state for at least one year before the issuance of the judgment;
5. There is no time restriction for bringing an appeal. However, in most cases, the defendant has two weeks from the time they get notice of the decision to begin proceedings based on the application to file an objection to the admissibility of the application.
Filing a motion to apply a counter-security is not limited by the general rules of procedure or the particular rules on recognition and execution of foreign judgments (injunctive relief on the legal grounds mentioned in the challenge itself).
The recognition and enforcement decision will be final and binding if no appeal is lodged within seven days of publication. Since the judgment will not become effective if an appeal is filed in the time and manner required by law, the interested party cannot ask the court to have the Judicial Acts Compulsory Enforcement Agency implement it.
6. Article 354, paragraph 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
7. By Article 354, paragraph 1.3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a foreign judgment cannot be recognized and enforced in Armenia if a decision has already been made in a case involving the same parties, on the same subject matter and on the same legal grounds by an Armenian court or a foreign court that an Armenian court has recognized.
8. The Suit Amount Is Determined By:
1) by money confiscation lawsuits, using the sum of the stolen funds.
2) Legal action seeking possession of the property, deducted from the property's current market value.
All penalties in the claim are included in the total amount being sued.
2. The total sum of all claims makes up the amount being sued for when many claims are involved.
9. The summons must include the following information: 1) the name and correct address of the court; 2) a notation on the time and place of appearance; 3) the case in which the person is being summoned; 4) information about the person being summoned to court; 5) the capacity in which the person is being summoned; 6) a notation on the consequences for failing to appear