Armenian PSRC head found himself  in statue of "suicide bomber" in  ENA case, with government holding him accountable for all aspects,   including financial: David Ghazinyan

ArmInfo. The Chairman of the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) of Armenia must suspend the activities of the manager of Elnet appointed by the authorities, meanwhile he is acting as a " suicide bomber". David Ghazinyan, former acting CEO of the Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC (ENA),  made this statement at a press conference on August 27.

Ghazinyan noted that in order for the company to carry out certain  actions as a security measure within the framework of the interim  decision of the Stockholm arbitration, Narek Karapetyan, Chairman of  the Board of Directors of ENA, had  sent a letter to Mesrop  Mesropyan,  the head of PSRC.

In response, the head of the Regulator stated that this issue was  outside his jurisdiction. However, it later revealed that he had sent  a letter to the head of the government staff, asking for  clarification on  the government's stance regarding Narek  Karapetyan's appeal to suspend the decision made by the head of the  PSRC on July 18 to initiate administrative proceedings and implement  preventive measures against Elnets, as well as appoint a temporary  manager for the ENA. In response to Mesropyan's request, the Office  of the Representative of Armenia on International Legal Affairs of  the Cabinet of Ministers pointed out that according to the decision  of the Extraordinary Arbitration, Armenia is required to refrain from  implementing the recently passed  amendments  to the laws "On Energy"  and "On t Public Services Regulatory Authority", as well as any  further actions aimed at seizing the assets of the ENA. 

The authorities must also refrain from changing the charter and  governing bodies of the company, appointing a temporary manager for  the ENA and authorizing to act exclusively as an executive body. The  court has also prohibited the Armenian government from revoking the  company's licenses or in any way restricting Elnet's natural business  activities. The relevant government department  states that as a  rule, arbitration awards must be executed immediately and mandatory  for the parties involved once an urgent decision is made,  Ghazinyan  clarified.

The former acting deputy executive director notes that they do not  insist on suspending the proceedings initiated by the PSRC, as even  before the well-known legislative amendments, the Commission had such  powers, that cannot be said about the decision to appoint a temporary  manager.

"And it turns out that the government (represented by the Office of  International Legal Affairs of the Cabinet of Ministers) is merely  creating an illusion - it says that it has expressed its opinion, but  as the PSRC is an independent structure, it must make a decision on  its own," Ghazinyan says.

This is not how governments work, he continues. If the state has  taken on certain obligations within the framework of international  treaties (the case was considered by the Arbitration Institute of the  Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) based on the Agreement between  Armenia and Cyprus on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of  Investments dated January 18, 1995 - ed.), and these agreements have  been checked for compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of  Armenia, approved by the parliament, then they have legal supremacy  over domestic legislation.

"Now the ball is in the PSRC's court," Ghazinyan emphasizes.  Meanwhile, the head of the Commission, after receiving all the  information, declares to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of   ENA that the issue is beyond the powers of the PSRC. "No matter how  much they try to assure that the Commission is an independent body,  we all understand that this is not the case. We have proven this many  times," Ghazinyan points out. According to him, even before the  legislative changes, the authorities announced the imminent  appointment of a temporary manager, but the head of the PSRC could  have chosen other measures "as a sanction" Additionally, the  Commission has no real control over the current manager Romanos  Petrosyan, as the latter, during the proceedings, would not have  published data on the process.

"The manager behaves very unbridled, showing no regard for his  authority.  He makes various statements, that indicate a lack of  control over him by the Regulator," Ghazinyan says, pointing out that  one of the first numbers of the Civil Contract ruling party, the head  of the state control service, who previously had not demonstrated  strong management skills, was chosen for this role.

In this regard, David Ghazinyan believes that the head of the PSRC is  not independent.  He noted that he cannot understand  why he took on  such a burden and ended up in the status of a 'suicide bomber', I  cannot say," he noted, adding that the government  essentially placed  all responsibility, including financial responsibility, onto the PSRC   head.