The import of medicines was rejected during the quarantine, but the Court restored the importer’s rights

• 2025-05-14

A business operator engaged in the import and wholesale distribution of pharmaceuticals applied to the Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia, seeking annulment of an administrative order issued by a public authority that had denied the company’s request to import a number of medicines from the Russian Federation into the Republic of Armenia.
The contested administrative act was based on the argument that the imported medicines were not registered in Armenia, and in certain cases, there were alleged inconsistencies regarding the manufacturer, dosage form, or other product specifications.
The plaintiff challenged the lawfulness of the administrative act, citing the following violations under the RA Law “On Fundamentals of Administration and Administrative Proceedings”:
-The administrative authority failed to ensure a comprehensive, complete, and objective examination of the case, as required by Articles 4, 5, and 37 of the law;
-The alleged discrepancies in the manufacturer’s data referenced in the administrative act did not, in fact, exist;
-The authority ignored the exceptions provided under Part 6 of Article 21 of the RA Law “On Medicines,” which permit the import of unregistered medicines in emergency situations;
-The import in question had been carried out during the quarantine period declared by Government Decision No. 1834-N, yet the administrative body failed to assess the actual risks associated with the emergency context;
-The decision was based on an expert opinion issued by a private organization lacking the statutory authority to provide legally binding expert evaluations and which was not a structural unit of the authorized administrative body.
After analyzing the case materials and the applicable legal norms, the Administrative Court found that the administrative act lacked sufficient justification, failed to include a thorough assessment of the essential circumstances of the case, and did not provide factual and legal grounds to substantiate the lawfulness of the refusal.
In view of the above, the Court ruled to annul the administrative act rejecting the import of medicines, based on the relevant provisions of the RA Law “On Fundamentals of Administration and Administrative Proceedings.”
This judgment once again affirms that administrative arbitrariness cannot override the lawful rights of economic operators, and that administrative bodies are obligated to act within the framework of legality, reasoned decision-making, and established legal procedures.

Notice
The judgment rendered in administrative case No. VD/2966/05/22 by the Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia has entered into legal force.