ArmInfo.We propose a bill according to which the head of the Chamber of Advocates will be able to conclude an employment contract with a lawyer who is not a public defender. On May 23, Deputy Minister of Justice Artak Asatryan stated this on May 23 during a meeting of the Committee on Human Rights and Public Affairs, proposing amendments and additions to the Law on Advocacy.
To note, public defenders are lawyers who provide services to citizens who need competent assistance, but are not solvent.
He noted that recently public defenders are overloaded, due to the fact that every year there is an increase in criminal and administrative cases in the country. "We intend to create a foundation with the participation of lawyers who, not being public defenders, will take into production cases sent to public defenders for a minimal fee. Since the latter are overloaded, we will somewhat facilitate their work in this way," said Asatryan.
In turn, Chairman of the Chamber of Advocates, Ara Zohrabyan, noted that the level of work of public defenders is very high, therefore, more and more people seek help from them. "If we cannot even relieve them a little, their level of work will decrease accordingly. We cannot let this happen. A lawyer who speaks to the foundation remains free from contacts with the investigator, and the Chamber of Advocates guarantees his monthly salary. This fund will be paid from state funds and greatly facilitate the work of public defenders ", Zohrabyan said.
The head of the Chamber of Advocates also noted that recently solvent citizens, who simply do not want to pay, began to apply to public defenders. "We also intend to create mechanisms that will allow us to establish whether a given citizen is solvent. If this is the case, then it is supposed to charge him for services rendered by a lawyer, thus knowing that it will still have to pay, some citizens will no longer seek help from to public defenders. It will also somewhat relieve the latter, "Zohrabyan concluded