Ex-ombudsman: Pashinyan placed a 'stamp of illegality' on ENA nationalization process

Former Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan has sharply criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over the government's refusal to comply with a ruling by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce concerning the nationalization of the Electricity Networks of Armenia (ENA).

In a social media post on Thursday, Tatoyan accused Pashinyan of placing a “stamp of illegality” on the entire process by politicizing the arbitration outcome and disregarding Armenia’s international legal obligations. He argued that the government’s July 23 statement reveals a willingness to disregard international treaties whenever their outcomes are politically inconvenient for the country's leadership.

Tatoyan rejected the government’s claims that its defiance of the arbitration ruling protects national sovereignty, calling it a pretext for arbitrary governance. “It sets a dangerous precedent, allowing the prime minister to disregard any unfavorable ruling from an international court, including those issued by the European Court of Human Rights,” he warned.

The former ombudsman also criticized the failure of state institutions, attributing it to the centralization of power and erosion of the rule of law. “What we are witnessing is the result of personalist rule and party-based governance,” he stated.

Tatoyan emphasized that Armenian courts should assess only whether the arbitration decision violates public order, without delving into its substance. He rejected the government’s narrative linking the issue to public security as an attempt to justify its political stance.

“The prime minister has already made it clear that this is a personal and political matter for him,” he concluded.