ARMENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Narine Beglaryan, Arianna Adamyan and Anahit Aloyan, Concern Dialog
upon lease termination unless otherwise agreed, while improvements made without consent are generally not compensated. Improvements made at the expense of amortisation funds belong to the lessor. 2.2.4 Risk of Title Annexation Armenian law does not contain specific provisions governing title to aircraft engines as distinct from the airframe. As a result, there may be a risk of title annexation in respect of aircraft engines installed on an airframe, particularly in the absence of clear con - tractual terms to the contrary. Under the Armenian Civil Code, if elements of different types form a unified whole intended for joint use, they may be treated as a single item of composite property. Any transaction involving such composite property will typically apply to all of its components, unless oth - erwise stipulated by agreement. Additionally, acces - sory property is deemed to follow the legal fate of the principal property, unless a different arrangement is specified in the contract. 2.2.5 Recognition of the Concepts of Trust/Trustee The concepts of a common law trust and an owner- trustee under a common law trust structure are not recognised under Armenian law. Nonetheless, Armenian law does provide for prop - erty trust management agreements. Under such agreements, the owner (trustor) retains legal title to the property, while a trust manager is authorised to manage the property in the interest of the owner or a designated third-party beneficiary. Importantly, this arrangement does not involve a transfer of owner - ship to the manager, who remains an agent acting on behalf of the owner, rather than holding title in trust. 2.3 Lease Registration 2.3.1 Notation of Owner’s/Lessor’s Interests on Aircraft Register Under Armenian law, the aircraft register maintained by the Civil Aviation Committee (Committee) records the identity of the legal owner of the aircraft, as well as the operator, if different from the owner. The register serves primarily to establish the national - ity of the aircraft in accordance with Part I, Chapter III
of the Chicago Convention and has only a declarative (evidentiary) effect. It reflects the ownership interest as notified to the Committee but does not create or confirm legal title. Consequently, the registration of a person as the owner does not constitute proof of own - ership as a matter of substantive property law. Any changes in ownership or operator must be reported to the Committee and registered accordingly, which results in the issuance of a new certificate of registra - tion. 2.3.2 Registration If the Owner Is Different From the Operator Under Armenian law, the application for aircraft regis - tration must be submitted by the legal owner or their authorised representative. Accordingly, although the name of the aircraft operator will also be recorded in the register, an aircraft may not be registered in the name of the operator unless the operator is also the legal owner of said aircraft. 2.3.3 Aircraft/Engine-Specific Registers There is no specific register in Armenia dedicated to leases concerning aircraft or engines. However, lease arrangements related to aircraft may be reflected indirectly in the aircraft register main - tained by the Committee, to the extent that the opera - tor’s rights are based on a lease agreement. That said, the aircraft register only records information about ownership and the operator; it does not constitute a lease register, nor does it establish or confirm legal rights under the lease itself. Regarding aircraft engines, there is no specific regis - ter, and engine-related information is recorded only as part of the aircraft’s airworthiness certification docu - ments or the aircraft noise certificate, as applicable. 2.3.4 Registration of Leases With the Domestic Aircraft Registry Under Armenian law, leases are not subject to man - datory registration in the domestic aircraft registry, nor is prior consent or approval from a governmental authority required for the execution or delivery of a lease concerning an aircraft registered in Armenia or an engine. Likewise, no governmental applications or
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