ARMENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Mesrop Manukyan, Maria Petrosyan, Grigor Grigoryan and Anahit Sargsyan, MB Legal
are required to provide the evidence they intend to rely on to the court and to the other side during the preliminary stage of the case. There is a general duty of good faith, meaning parties should not hide relevant evidence. If a party needs evidence that is in the possession of the opposing side or a third party, they can petition the court to order its production. The applicant must specify the evidence needed and explain why it is rele- vant to the case. If the court finds the request justified, it will issue a binding order for production, and fail- ure to comply can result in fines or the court drawing “adverse inferences” against the non-complying party. 8.2 Privilege The Armenian legal framework protects various cat- egories of information from disclosure through “law- protected secrets”. These privileges include: • attorney-client privilege – absolute protection for all communications and documents exchanged between an advocate and their client in the course of professional service; • mediation secrecy – statutory protection for all statements made, documents prepared and infor- mation disclosed during the mediation process; • banking and insurance secrecy – strict prohibi- tion against the disclosure of customer-specific financial data by banks, insurers or state officials, except under specific court orders; • judicial privilege – a judge cannot be questioned as a witness regarding any case or proceeding in which they exercised their official powers; • trade and service secrets – protection for commer- cial information that holds value due to its confi- dential nature, provided the owner has taken steps to maintain its secrecy; and • notarial secrets – protection for the contents of a will and related notarial acts before the inheritance has been opened. 8.3 Confidentiality A party can request that certain evidence be kept con- fidential if it involves trade secrets, personal privacy or state interests. The court will review the evidence in a closed session to determine its sensitivity. If the court agrees that the information is confidential, it may limit
its distribution to only the parties and their lawyers or require it to be kept in a secured portion of the case file. There are limited exceptions where confidentiality must give way to the public interest, such as in the investigation of serious crimes or when the informa- tion is essential for protecting public health or safety. In commercial cases, the court often uses protective orders to allow the parties to share sensitive informa- tion while preventing its disclosure to competitors or the general public. 8.4 Witness Evidence Witness evidence is a standard part of Armenian liti- gation, but it is primarily oral and conducted during the trial. While parties can submit written witness statements, these are usually treated as supporting documents, and the witness must typically appear in person (or via video link) to testify under oath. In Armenia, while there is no formal system of pretrial witness depositions conducted by legal counsel, a similar outcome can be achieved through the securing of evidence by a notary. Under the Law on Notariat, an interested party may petition a notary to ensure evidence – including the questioning of witnesses – if there are grounds to assume that providing such evi- dence later in court might become difficult or impossi- ble. When performing this action, the notary is guided by the relevant provisions of the Civil Procedure Code. Such notarised statements and confirmed oral decla- rations have evidentiary power and can be submitted as valid evidence in subsequent court or law enforce- ment proceedings. During the hearing, witnesses are subject to cross- examination by the opposing party and questioning by the judge. The court’s goal is to test the credibility and first-hand knowledge of the witness. Giving false testimony is a criminal offence, and witnesses are for- mally warned of this responsibility before they begin their testimony. 8.5 Expert Evidence Expert evidence is often the deciding factor in com- plex commercial disputes involving technical, finan- cial or scientific issues. Experts can be appointed by the court at the request of a party or on the court’s
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