In the scope of the powers of initiating a claim on state (community) interest protection the Prosecutor General’s Office submitted a claim to the Administrative Court with the requirement to return to the Republic of Armenia the building located at Abovyan 3 (famous as AOKS building) included in the list of immovable monuments of the history and culture of Armenia on November 18, 2022.

The claim was based on the fact, that by order № 699 of the Council of Ministers of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic of November 24, 1955 properties were included in the balance sheet of AOKS— Committee of cultural ties with foreign countries, among them the building located at Abovyan 3.

Afterwards the organization under the name of “Armenian Society for Cultural Cooperation with Foreign Countries” was created on July 30, 1992, which acted as the legal successor of the Committee of cultural relations with foreign countries without any legal ground and in 2001 submitting the abovementioned order adopted about 37 years before its creation, received the certificate of state registration of the right of AOKS building.

Taking into consideration the abovementioned, with the claim submitted to the Administrative Court the Prosecutor General’s Office required to recognize invalid the state registration of the right of the Armenian Society for Cultural Cooperation with Foreign Countries (on July 3, 2001) and the right of AOKS LLC (on November 25, 2011) in the Cadaster Committee.  

The statement of claim was submitted to the Administrative court on November 22, 2022.

On September 8, 2023 a peace agreement was concluded between the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia and the owners of AOKS building. The agreement was submitted to the Administrative court on the same day.

After the peace agreement was approved by the court the ownership right of the land plot with the surface of 0.0467 ha and the building with the surface of 526.9 m² located at the address of Abovyan 3 was transferred to the Republic of Armenia.

We would like to remind that the preliminary examination of the criminal proceedings examined in the Main Directorate of Investigation of the National Security Service regarding the illegal privatization of the immovable monuments of the history and culture belonging to the Republic of Armenia is pending.