ArmInfo.A number of public organizations in Armenia raised the issue of the need for a number of reforms in the judicial system. This is stated in their statement to ArmInfo.
The statement was signed by the Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center, the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, the Asparez Journalists' Club and the Open Society Foundations - Armenia.
In particular, the statement notes that after the revolution of 2018, the Armenian public has a hope that reforms will be carried out in a number of areas, in particular, this concerns representatives of the judiciary. "This issue is currently relevant in the context of the formation and improvement of the judicial system, since public confidence in the judicial system was very low both before the revolution and now. The corruption of the courts, serving the interests of the political elite, the desire not to harm the criminal- oligarchic groups in post-revolutionary Armenia are unacceptable. We propose to conduct a more rigorous selection of candidates for the position of judges, "the statement emphasizes.
In particular, it is proposed that everyone who wants to be able to apply for the position of judges. They must include detailed information about themselves, their skills and fill out a series of answers to various questions, and complete an integrity test. The judicial department must then verify the authenticity of the information submitted by the candidates for the office of judges.
Then the representatives of the Supreme Judicial Council should check the professional qualities of the candidates for judges and their suitability for this position. "Quite large resources are allocated to test the professional qualities of judges, however, their moral qualities are not taken into account. We believe that special attention should be paid to this issue. Judges must pass the Integrity Test, and if they fail this test, they should be weeded out. You should also draw up a list of alternative candidates, in case one of the candidates for the position of judges drops out of the competition>, - the statement says.