ArmInfo. Issues related to the judiciary in Armenia need to be resolved promptly, but as a result of serious discussions, the authorities came to the conclusion that it is necessary to follow a surgical, but institutional way in the matter of judicial reform. This was announced on September 16 by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at a press conference in Vanadzor.
As Pashinyan pointed out, the ultimate goal of the Armenian government is to create a truly independent judiciary. "So that it doesn't turn out that we have replaced the judicial system, which depends on the will of the previous authorities, with a similar body, which depends on the current government," he explained. In this context, according to the prime minister, an anti-corruption strategy has already been formed using the processes of the so-called vetting. Two anti-corruption bodies will be created to assess the material and professional capabilities. However, as Pashinyan pointed out, the authorities understand that the concept of vetting itself causes certain feelings, as a result of which it decided to abandon the word "vetting".
To recall, on May 20, in his speech on the judicial-legal system, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated that "the time has come to conduct surgical interventions in the judicial system." This process, as Pashinyan pointed out, should be expressed as follows: all judges in Armenia, without exception, should be subject to vetting. That is, society must have complete information about political connections, state and origin of property, previous activities, personal and professional qualities of judges. Judges on whose judgments the ECHR recorded a gross violation of rights must resign or be removed from office. And those judges who, deep down inside, know that they cannot be impartial and objective, should resign, thus serving an important service to Armenia and the Armenian people. According to the Prime Minister, Armenia is ready for this to conduct constitutional reforms. "All this work should be carried out in cooperation with well-known international organizations operating in this field, in accordance with international best practices and in the framework of international commitments made by Armenia. We have been discussing this process with representatives of the UN, Council of Europe, EU, OSCE, IMF for a long time and the World Bank, and I hope all our international partners will support Armenia, since our goal is not to get a new puppet judicial system, but a truly independent, objective, based on the rule of law with a legal system that meets the criteria of an advanced civilized world. On this issue, we should cooperate widely with Armenian civil society, non-governmental organizations and the expert community. I want to emphasize that the time has come for clear, reliable and institutional solutions in the fight against corruption, " he stated.