"Mother Armenia" wins Appeal Court case against 2024 Yerevan parking  fee hike

ArmInfo.The "Mother Armenia" faction of the Yerevan Council of Elders has won another legal victory in the Court of Appeals against the 2024 parking fee  increases on Yerevan's designated "red lines."  

Manuk Sukiasyan, the head of the "Mother Armenia" faction in the Yerevan Council of Elders, shared this information on his Facebook page. Sukiasyan also  recalled that their political force had previously secured a legal victory concerning the parking fee hikes proposed for 2025. "They did  not 'forgive' Tevanyan for these victories either," he wrote, referring to the arrest of their political leader, Andranik Tevanyan,  in connection with a high treason case.

Recall, while coming to power, the country's current leadership  heavily leveraged the controversial "red line" parking system in  their campaign advertising. At the time, they criticized the former  government, accusing them of trying to "squeeze the last pennies out  of drivers' pockets" through what they deemed unjustifiably high  rates. However, upon taking office including in Yerevan's municipal  government  they decided not to lower parking rates, but rather to  increase them substantially. Under the new rate structure, the annual  parking fee surged dramatically from AMD 12,000 to AMD 160,000 for  citizens purchasing an annual pass starting January 1st; otherwise,  the cumulative cost can reach approximately AMD 220,000.

The decisions for both 2024 and 2025 were legally challenged by  Andranik Tevanyan, leader of the "Mother Armenia" movement, alongside  faction members Samvel Hakobyan and Manuk Sukiasyan.

Representatives of the ruling "Civil Contract" party justified the  fee hikes as a measure to reduce traffic congestion in the city  center. In response, the "Mother Armenia" faction filed a lawsuit  with the court of first instance to contest the decision and won. The  ruling party subsequently appealed this decision. In December 2025,  the Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's ruling, confirming that  the fee hikes were unlawful.

Meanwhile, the "Mother Armenia" faction member suggested that during  the upcoming year-end session of the Council of Elders, the ruling  party will likely submit a new draft resolution to further increase  capital parking rates for 2026. Notably, in a ruling dated May 23,  2025, the Administrative Court ruled that the Municipality of Yerevan  had failed to prove that the sharp tariff hike aimed to improve  service quality, and dismissed the city's traffic decongestion  argument as legally groundless.

Despite the Armenian courts declaring the Yerevan parking fee  increases unlawful for two consecutive years, the city municipality  continues to collect these fees from residents and guests of the  capital.