The Project is funded by UK Good Governance Fund (GGF). It is implemented in consortium with ELL Partnership Law Firm. An efficient and responsive bankruptcy system is one of the key features of a functioning business environment. A well-functioning bankruptcy system protects the interests of all parties faced with bankruptcy, while creating conducive conditions for a “fresh start” for distressed businesses. This project responds to the serious shortcomings of bankruptcy framework in Armenia at both legislative and practical levels. Technical assistance provided to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments (MoEDI) and other relevant government bodies aims ultimately to identify de jure and de facto gaps, improve the business environment and promote economic growth through the development of a robust bankruptcy system, which will increase the confidence of investors doing business in Armenia.

In order to this, the project aims to deliver the following outcome:

A more efficient and responsive bankruptcy system, providing increased transparency and enhanced safeguards for both investors and entrepreneurs.

This will be achieved through the outputs set out below:

Output 1: Assessment (monitoring) of the legislative and practical elements of the current bankruptcy system, including identification of key systemic gaps and comparison against international good practice. 

[This will form a solid evidence-based baseline which will be used both to inform the rest of the project as well as wider government decision- and policy-making on the potential for reforms.]

Output 2: Development of a road map with an action plan for bankruptcy system reform, based on the main findings identified through the Output 1 assessment. 

[Implementation of this plan may be funded by future GGF projects and/or other donors.]

Output 3: Development of an outline of an electronic interoperable platform for administering bankruptcy cases (e-bankruptcy), specifying the overall architecture of the e-platform, including functionality, scalability and system requirements. 

[Alongside the assessment of the bankruptcy system (output 1) the overall expectations among stakeholders in the bankruptcy system will be identified with regard to the content and functions of e-bankruptcy.]

The key project partners on the government side are the Ministry of Justice of RA, the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments, the State Revenue Committee, the Central Bank of Armenia. The project will also work with relevant private sector partners. The project will seek to coordinate, and to the extent possible, work jointly with other complementary projects and initiatives in the field of bankruptcy reform.