The Court of General Jurisdiction of First Instance of Lori Province, Armenia, has granted the petition of M. E., a person forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, establishing the legally significant fact of their labor standard (work experience). This was reported by the Helsinki Citizen’s Assembly-Vanadzor (HCAV) office.

As a result of the Azerbaijani aggression on September 19, 2023, M. E. was forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and deprived of several important documents. Consequently, they were unable to obtain the necessary archival papers confirming their employment history. The citizen's employment record book lacked an entry and employer's seal regarding their dismissal, on the basis of which the Unified Social Service of the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs rejected their application for calculating their work experience. This rejection prevented M. E. from starting a new job where relevant work experience was required.

Given the impossibility of acquiring the necessary documents out of court, M. E. turned to the Helsinki Citizen’s Assembly-Vanadzor office. Represented by Liana Mkhoyan, HCAV took over the defense of their interests on March 18, 2026, and submitted a petition to the Court of General Jurisdiction of First Instance of Lori Province on May 5, 2026, requesting the confirmation of the labor standard fact.

The Court of General Jurisdiction of First Instance of Lori Province, having examined the evidence in the case—including the submitted documents and witness testimonies—ruled that they were sufficient to establish the fact of M. E.'s employment history.

The Court also noted that the negative consequences of the absence of archival documents cannot be placed on the citizen, as the obligation to preserve and transfer the relevant documents fell on the employing organizations.

As a result, by its verdict of July 10, 2026, the Court of General Jurisdiction of First Instance of Lori Province granted M. E.'s petition and established the legally significant fact of their work experience.