Starting from 1 February, all procedural documents (appeal, application, complaint, response, position, petition, etc.) in new court cases submitted to the court must be drawn up and submitted through the Electronic Civil Procedure System in accordance with the tools provided by the System and the requirements set forth (with the exception of information constituting a state secret, which is presented only materially).
The Draft on the electronic system established by the law HO-11 of 22 December, 2023 “On Amendments and Additions to the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia” was sent to the Chamber of Advocates in April 2023. The Chamber of Advocates presented its position. Ms Lusine Sargsyan, the Head of Staff of the Chamber of Advocates, mentioned this in an interview with Iravaban.net , adding that the position in general referred to the fact that the idea is good and after some time, when it will be possible to fully adapt to electronic justice, it will make much easier for lawyers and the courts.
“We mentioned in our remarks that it is necessary to gradually switch to the system, because a sudden switch can create a collapse. We have proposed to make the entry of temporary claims in the electronic system, not excluding the circulation of paper documents in the old system. At the moment, we have what we have,” Lusine Sargsyan said.
According to her, everything cannot be smooth in the beginning, because the program is new, a number of problems may appear.
“The major problem we have at the moment is that it is possible to enter the system only if you have an identification card, and since having an identification card is not a mandatory condition by law, there are lawyers who still do not have an identification card,” Sargsyan said.
That is why it was agreed that lawyers will be able to submit an application for an identification card without waiting in line.
Some of the questions lawyers have are related to electronic signatures. “In addition to the identification card, the presence of an electronic signature is mandatory, without which it becomes impossible to sign a claim. There are also questions regarding the notifications, how the notifications should be ensured, whether they will be ensured through the program or they will be received by mail. There are a lot of questions that are natural.”
The Chamber of Advocates has transferred the data of all lawyers to “MASYS” Information Systems LLC. The username and password, with which the lawyers will be able to enter the system are sent to each lawyer’s e-mail address. The Chamber of Advocates will regularly update the data of lawyers.
The Chamber of Advocates is now conducting trainings among lawyers, presenting the changes made.
“We tried to do everything to support the lawyers as quickly as possible and to make the problems as few as possible. In this regard, we cooperate with the Ministry of Justice and the “MASYS” Information Systems Company implementing the program. We are conducting trainings for lawyers so that we can familiarize them with the tools that are being launched,” she said.
According to Lusine Sargsyan, the trainings will continue according to the need and necessity.
Touching upon the question of what should be done by persons who are not lawyers, but want to submit a lawsuit to the court on their own, Sargsyan said: “There are several options when a person cannot become a lawyer and present his interests in court, in that case the person has the right to register as a citizen in the electronic system and send a claim electronically as well.
Citizens who are not lawyers can still continue to submit their claims in the old, paper format.
It is important to emphasize once again that we are talking about newly submitted claims and applications. If the case is already in progress and within its framework, for example, a petition is submitted, then this petition must be submitted in paper format, in that case there is no possibility to enter it in electronic form.
Please note that launched Electronic Civil Proceedings is a part of Electronic Justice.
The platform operates under the link https://cabinet.armlex.am/.
This publication was prepared by the “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” (ALA) NGO in cooperation with CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia within the framework of the “Multi-Faceted OGP Action: Open Justice & Anti-Corruption Commitments” project implemented with the support of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), in the framework of the European Union funded “EU for Integrity Programme for the Eastern Partnership” Action.
The publication expresses the position of the author, the ALA, which does not necessarily coincide with the position of the OGP and the EU.
