The Stockholm arbitration tribunal has granted the Armenian government’s request to bifurcate proceedings in the case brought by Liormand Holdings Limited and members of the Karapetyan family, the government announced.

The tribunal will, at the preliminary stage, separately consider Armenia’s jurisdictional objections, including the government’s argument that the claimants do not qualify as “investors” under the applicable international agreement.

“In its decision of June 16, 2026, the Stockholm arbitration tribunal fully granted Armenia’s request for bifurcation in the arbitration case of Liormand Holdings Limited and the Karapetyans versus Armenia.

Armenia presented arguments demonstrating that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction to hear the case. The international tribunal found sufficient grounds for all of the government’s arguments to be examined separately during the preliminary phase of the proceedings.

One of Armenia’s key arguments is that the Karapetyans do not meet the requirements of the term ‘investor’ as defined in the relevant international agreement and have also violated the requirements of Article 9(2) of that agreement.

This important decision makes it possible for the international tribunal to address jurisdictional issues at a much earlier stage and potentially dismiss all claims brought against Armenia,” the government’s statement said.

The arbitration was initiated under a bilateral investment treaty, while earlier interim measures had prompted competing interpretations of the proceedings.

The arbitration was launched by the Karapetyan family before the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) under the procedures established by the Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investments signed between the governments of Armenia and Cyprus on January 18, 1995.

On July 23, 2025, Karapetyan’s legal team stated that he had “won against the Armenian government in an international court” in the dispute concerning the nationalization process of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA). However, that statement referred not to a final ruling on the merits but to an interim measure issued pending the tribunal’s final decision.

According to that statement, the tribunal ordered Armenia to refrain from applying recently adopted provisions of the Armenian laws “On Energy” and “On the Public Services Regulatory Commission” to Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC, as well as from taking further steps toward the seizure of the company.