Armenia · Overview
The legal system of Armenia
A civil-law system with a Civil Code of 1998 drafted on continental European models and influenced by the CIS model code, plus a Criminal Code recodified in 2021 and a new Code of Criminal Procedure in force from 2022. Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, whose regulations apply directly in customs and technical regulation, while a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the EU drives approximation in other fields — the two programmes sit alongside each other. Armenia is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and its Constitutional Court engages closely with Strasbourg jurisprudence. Soviet legal structures were replaced after 1991 by civil, criminal and procedural codes drafted on continental European models, but the prokuratura survives as a powerful supervisory prosecution service with functions that go well beyond charging decisions, and notarial formality remains heavy for property and corporate acts.
Legal tradition
Armenia belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil-law system with a Civil Code of 1998 drafted on continental European models and influenced by the CIS model code, plus a Criminal Code recodified in 2021 and a new Code of Criminal Procedure in force from 2022. Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, whose regulations apply directly in customs and technical regulation, while a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the EU drives approximation in other fields — the two programmes sit alongside each other. Armenia is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and its Constitutional Court engages closely with Strasbourg jurisprudence. Soviet legal structures were replaced after 1991 by civil, criminal and procedural codes drafted on continental European models, but the prokuratura survives as a powerful supervisory prosecution service with functions that go well beyond charging decisions, and notarial formality remains heavy for property and corporate acts.
How power is divided
Unitary, with ten provinces headed by centrally appointed governors and Yerevan as a separate community with an elected council. Local self-government is guaranteed constitutionally and has been consolidated through mergers of small communities.
Where law comes from
- The Constitution
- Supreme; the 2015 text governs the parliamentary structure.
- International treaties
- Prevail over conflicting statutes; the ECHR is directly invoked.
- Eurasian Economic Union acts
- Directly applicable in customs and technical regulation.
- Laws of the National Assembly
- Constitutional laws require a three-fifths majority.
- The Civil Code 1998 and Criminal Code 2021
- The core codifications.
The legal profession
Advocates are licensed by the Chamber of Advocates after the qualifying examination and the School of Advocates course, and hold a monopoly on criminal defence. Public defenders sit within the Chamber rather than a separate agency, which is unusual and makes the Chamber the main legal aid provider. Notaries are licensed by the Ministry of Justice and their authentication is required for property transactions, powers of attorney and many corporate acts.
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