ArmInfo.. The European Commission will provide Armenia with 30 million euros for the implementation of the reform program in the country's judicial system. At the meeting on September 24, the RA government approved for signing a draft agreement with the EC.
As Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan noted in his speech, out of the amount of 30 million euros, 3 million euros will be allocated for technical assistance (mainly consulting services), and the remaining 27 million euros will be allocated to the state budget in three equal parts. The program aims to support the implementation of justice reforms in line with the commitments made by Armenia under the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement. The overall goal of the program is to ensure the rule of law and effectively combat corruption in the justice sector. The specific goals are to strengthen independence, morality, accountability in the justice system, improve the quality of services and improve their efficiency, and strengthen the judicial system's response to corruption. The program is based on the 2019-2023 Judicial and Legal Reform Strategy. Priorities will include combating corruption, independence of judges, impartiality and accountability of the judiciary. The program reflects the priorities of the RA anti-corruption strategy, one of which is the creation of specialized anti-corruption courts and relevant prosecutorial and investigative bodies.
RA Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan stressed that the program should be implemented by the end of 2023. The republic will receive 9 million euros in separate tranches annually. The first 9 million euros are expected to be received in 2020. They will be divided into three components.
The first component involves checking the image of judges, taking into account their property status. Currently, the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption is carrying out this work with regard to the judges of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Constitutional Court. This work should rid the judicial system of manifestations of corruption.
The second component is related to improving the quality of services in the judicial system, which provides for the introduction of an electronic mechanism, alternative mechanisms for the consideration of court cases, arbitration proceedings. As a result of the application of these mechanisms, by the end of 2023, the burden on the judicial system will decrease by 40%, which, in turn, means a 40% reduction in the time for consideration of court cases. Currently, many processes in the courts of Yerevan have already been digitized, and work is underway to introduce electronic mechanisms related to bankruptcy.
And finally, the third component concerns the anti-corruption institutional system. It is planned, in particular, to create anti-corruption courts and investigation bodies for corruption cases. In turn, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stressed that in the issue of democratic reforms, the European Union is Armenia's main partner. This partnership naturally moves forward.