ArmInfo.The Supreme Judicial Council should justify not only the expectations of those people who designed this Council, but also the expectations of the public of Armenia. The President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan stated this yesterday during the meeting with the first composition of the Supreme Judicial Council.
According to him, quotes the presidential press office, less than a month remains until the day when the members of the Council formally will be honored to represent this constitutional body. "I think that being elected to the first composition of the Council doubles the responsibility, since you have to deal with the formation of this body, and it depends very much on the establishment of this independent body in our country. I personally congratulate you, Mr. Harutyunyan. For the foreseeable future, the Supreme Judicial Council will outline its way of becoming and will take its rightful place in the system of our state bodies and not only. I am sure that a certain time will pass and already on the international arena, the Supreme Court of Justice of Armenia will be recognized as the venue," Serzh Sargsyan said.
As Sargsyan emphasized, the role of the Justice Council was originally intended to enhance the concept of constitutional changes. However, taking into account the independence of the judiciary, the professional council proposed, in the end, to create an agency that would bear responsibility in the matter of increasing the independence of the courts and judges. "This does not mean that we underestimated the role of the Council of Justice in the development of our judicial system, and I should also say that the Council of Justice has made its contribution during these twenty years." Whatever problems our society, I personally, or whatever they had no opinion on the issue of independence and fair verdicts of the judicial system, nevertheless, our judicial system today can not be compared with what was ten or fifteen years ago," the RA President said.
According to the Armenian leader, those bodies that are endowed with large powers provided for in the Constitution should also bear a great responsibility. There is no other way. "This approach concerns not only the Supreme Judicial Council, but all the state bodies stipulated by the same Constitution." The semi- presidential system has decided on certain tasks in the development of our country, but, believe me, this is not the best system for development. We speak and will speak in the future that the country can have a great speed, a great rate of development under any control system. This is true, but the truth is also that decades-tested mechanisms can contribute to have very great powers, you will be the only body that will choose and appoint judges, you will also be the only body that will terminate the powers or call the judges to account. I want to wish you determination and express hope that none of you will try to be kind-hearted, in the sense that kindness does not mean forgiving mistakes, being kind and kind-hearted never means not seeing problem that becomes systemic, which harms state. I think none of you doubts that for the development of the state justice is simply of primary importance, be it economy, politics or another sphere," Serzh Sargsyan said.
According to him, the Council has one more feature - it was formed on the principle of equality. The Council includes both practicing judges who have many years of experience, as well as academic lawyers. "I am sure that you are fully aware that you are not representatives of two different groups, and especially for the public you must appear as a single body, otherwise it will interfere with the work of the Supreme Judicial Council and will only do harm. How much do you want to argue, debate during the meetings of your council, in your offices, but protecting the interests of the most important part of our legal system is the interests of the court. We must achieve a high level of justice. This is the task set before us. The approach, the approach of a person who, in detail, always participated with the professional council in discussions and had a great desire to create an agency that can have a significant role in the development of the independence of our courts: Independence, but not of everything, but being accountable to the law. First of all, the court must answer before the law, because if he teaches others to be accountable before the law, obliges others to comply with the entire scope of the law, first of all he himself must be so. This is a very clear thing, I must say - do as I do. Once again, I want to congratulate all of you and wish you success. I am confident that the Council will be held in the foreseeable future," the RA President said.
Gagik Harutyunyan, Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, on his behalf and on behalf of the Council members expressed gratitude to the President for having met with members of the Council, for congratulations and good wishes, within the framework of his constitutional function to ensure the normal functioning of the legislative, executive, judicial authorities. Gagik Harutyunyan assured that all members of the Council are ready to start working with an undivided sense of duty and responsibility in order to justify the expectations that exist from this new body. "We discussed with your colleagues, and you stressed, dear President, the important fact that there is no difference now, council members from courts, from the university, from science." There is a single responsibility to the people to gain confidence and as soon as possible to register positive results. A serious, loaded work is expected," said the chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council and said that despite the remaining less than a month before the adoption of powers of Council, in fact, the Council has already begun preparatory work, without which, according to Gagik Harutyunyan, it would be difficult to implement in time the expected volume of work quickly to find solutions to the key challenges.