ArmInfo. "We support the Armenian authorities in adopting a new criminal code and carrying out reforms of the judicial code of the Republic of Armenia," Natalia Vutova, representative of the Council of Europe in Armenia, said during a discussion of the draft criminal procedure in Armenia on December 6.
It should be noted that discussions were organized within the framework of the program "Promoting Criminal Justice Reforms and Harmonizing the Application of European Standards in Armenia" and partnership programs for good governance.
Vutova recalled that the opinions of the Venice Commission, approved in October 2019, around the ratification of the Istanbul Convention and the package of amendments to the Judicial Code are important, noting that through this document, the Council of Europe works with the Armenian authorities. The CE representative expressed the hope that, following the discussion, the criminal justice project will be adopted by the National Assembly next year.
Vutova said that European experts of the highest rank arrived in Armenia, who worked on this document for a rather long time.
"I hope that through the involvement of national and international colleagues, we will have the opportunity to bring this document in line with international requirements before being accepted into the country's parliament," Vutova said.
In turn, the head of the cooperation department of the EU delegation to Armenia Gonzalo Serano de la Rosa noted that today's discussions will touch upon judicial and legal reforms, in particular, questions will be raised around in the criminal procedure legislation.
"On the EU side, we attach great importance to the implementation of judicial reforms in the coming years this year, in particular in the field of human rights, the fight against corruption," he said.
In his opinion, in recent years, serious progress has been recorded in Armenia in these areas, from the point of view of planning and strategy development, important documents have been adopted, the "Armenia-EU" Action Programs have been developed and implemented.
"But today we need to raise issues related to the legislative part, in particular the technical aspects and see how the legislation will help us implement the important strategies that were adopted earlier," Gonzalo Serano de la Rosa added.
Touching upon the visit of the Minister of Justice of Armenia Rustam Badasyan to Brussels, where he participates in discussions on the judicial legal reforms, the European official stressed that the participation of the European Union and the Council of Europe in these processes play an important role. <This all becomes very important at a time when there is a master in the country who requires these reforms. Therefore, it is very important that representatives of different structures, following the results of discussions, be able to ensure a project that meets international standards. During the discussions, we will also discuss the problems that matter within the framework of the CEPA agreement, see how the work entrusted to the government institutions is going on,> the head of the cooperation department of the EU delegation in Armenia summed up.