Mother See loses right to freehold use of state-owned land with ownership rights

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has been stripped of the right to use state and community-owned land plots with ownership rights free of charge, a decision made at the Armenian government’s year-end session.

From now on, the Mother See will be able to manage these land plots only under the right of usufruct (free use without ownership).

The government proposed amendments to the Land Code, stipulating that communal and state lands provided to the Mother See for church construction and maintenance would no longer be granted with ownership rights free of charge, but only with the right of usufruct. The relevant draft was included in today’s government session agenda.