ARMENIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Varoujan Avedikian, Lena Mitichyan, Ani Tchagharyan and Anahit Zakaryan, Andersen Legal
(the law should undergo a second reading in the near future). Compulsory Mediation Proceedings Requirements The Law on Mediation was adopted in Armenia in 2018, but it was not fully implemented in practice for several years. To strengthen and promote the use of mediation, new legislative amendments were intro - duced to enhance the system’s effectiveness and accessibility. As of 1 July 2025, mediation became mandatory for resolving certain family disputes. Mediators are not judges; they are neutral certified professionals with special training who help the parties reach a mutu - ally acceptable solution. The mediator does not make decisions for the parties but guides them towards agreement. Each party can choose the mediator that best fits their situation. Mediation offers several advantages. It allows dis - putes to be resolved faster, reduces stress for the participants, involves lower costs compared to court proceedings and ensures confidentiality throughout the process. Once the parties reach and sign a media - tion agreement, and it is officially approved, it has the same legal force as a court decision. If either party fails to comply with the terms of the agreement, it can be enforced just like a court judgment. Mediation is mandatory before going to court in spe - cific types of family cases, including divorce, deter - mination of a child’s place of residence, recovery of alimony, division of shared property, issues related to child communication, upbringing, education and the determination of visitation rights. When mediation is required by law, a person cannot apply to the court until the mediation process has been completed. There are, however, some exceptions. The parties may go directly to court without undergoing mandatory mediation if a protection order has been issued under the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence, if one of the parties has been convicted of an intention - al crime against the other party or their close family member, or if one of the parties has been declared missing, is legally incapacitated or has been arrested, or is serving a prison sentence.
These legislative changes were introduced to promote the establishment and development of mediation in Armenia, to encourage people to resolve conflicts peacefully and co-operatively, and to reduce the over - all workload of the courts. Law on State Support for the High Technology Sector The law sets out the legal framework for state sup - port to the high-technology (HT) sector in Armenia. It defines “high technologies” to include innova - tions rooted in knowledge, experience and material resources, specifically including information technolo - gies (software, data, images, services), related plat - forms and R&D. Key objectives of the law are fostering the competitiveness of the HT sector, attracting and expanding new skilled workers, upgrading employ - ee skills, attracting venture and other investments, implementation of R&D activities through grant pro - grammes, and support for the establishment and development of start-up enterprises. The law states that the government, through the authorised agency, identifies the HT activity types eligible for support (based on the economic activity classifier) and develops detailed support measures and procedures. Among the core support measures are: • stage-based tax incentives for “new employees” in the HT sector and for foreign “labour migrants” working in specific professional roles, with up to 60% relief of income tax for the employer’s wage payments during the designated period; • support for training and retraining of staff – for employers engaged in eligible HT activities, the employer may receive a subsidy equal to 50% of the income tax on the wages of the retrained worker, subject to regulatory approval; and • a cap on the total amount of support in a report - ing period: the total subsidies for a given employer cannot exceed 50% of the total income tax paid by all employees of that employer in the relevant period. Application for benefits is voluntary and made via an electronic platform through which eligible HT organi -
31 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook