Armenia’s president signs workplace-accident protocol law

President Vahagn Khachaturyan signed the law ratifying the protocol on 10 November 2026, an official notice carried by Civic.am, a news site close to the governing Civil Contract party, said. The protocol amends an agreement signed on 9 December 1994, on investigating workplace accidents involving workers outside their state of residence.

The original agreement took effect for Armenia on 10 March 1995. It covers accidents involving workers temporarily assigned in participating states and applies to their employers, including organizations regardless of ownership and individuals who employ them.

How investigations would work

In a separate decision, Armenia’s Constitutional Court said the protocol aims to update the agreement, clarify its terms and address emerging technological and industrial risks.

The court described a requirement for the enterprise where an accident occurred to organize the investigation, including reporting the injury and forming an investigation commission, under the rules applicable where the injured worker was located. The protocol also revises definitions and the accident-report annex and adds instructions for completing the H-1M workplace-accident report.

For an accident in Armenia during travel to or from an assignment, including transit, the court said Armenia’s occupational-safety supervisory authority must forward information it receives to its counterpart in the state where the worker’s employer is located. The Armenian authority must also take necessary measures to oversee an investigation when it receives accident information.

Ratification and entry into force

The protocol was signed in Dushanbe on 5 June 2025. Armenia’s government approved the ratification initiative and decided to seek constitutional review on 18 June 2026; the Constitutional Court ruled on 15 September 2026, that the protocol’s obligations complied with the Constitution.

The court said the protocol takes effect when the depositary—the body holding the treaty notifications—receives a third notice from a signatory that it has completed the required domestic procedures. For parties completing those procedures later, it takes effect when the depositary receives their respective notices.