Armenia`s President and Minister of Justice discussed the legislative  package "On Amendments and Additions to the Constitutional Law of the  RA Judicial Code"

ArmInfo.Armenian President Armen Sarkissian and Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan at a meeting on March 30 discussed the legislative package "On Amendments and Addenda to the Constitutional Law of the RA Judicial Code" recently adopted  by the National Assembly and sent for signing to the head of state.

As reported by the RA President's press service, the Minister  presented explanations to the Armenian President on the mentioned  changes in the legislation.

It should be noted that on February 24, the RA President's Press  Service issued clarifications in connection with the submission by  the National Assembly on February 4, 2021 for the signature of the  head of state of the law "On Amendments and Additions to the  Constitutional Law" RA Judicial Code "and" On Additions and  Amendments to the Law "On the Academy of Justice" (hereinafter  referred to as the Laws).  At that time, the President's Office  reported that the laws had been studied by independent experts and  lawyers working in the Office of the President of the Republic, who  concluded that the Laws were obviously problematic from the point of  view of constitutionality.

"The President of the Republic attaches great importance to the role  and importance of the judicial system in the life of the state and in  ensuring the normal life of society. Implementation of the priority  of law, legality, equality before the law and the court and fair  investigation of court proceedings, guaranteeing the right to a fair,  public investigation of cases within a reasonable timeframe by an  independent and impartial court are necessary conditions for building  confidence in the state and the judiciary, for the implementation of  effective justice. Application of the law should not be problematic  from the point of view of compliance with the principles of  independence and impartiality of judges enshrined in the  Constitution, exclusion of any interference in the implementation of  justice. The President of the Republic did not sign the Laws and,  with appropriate legal justifications and arguments, appealed to the  Constitutional Court with a request to determine the issue of  compliance of the Laws with the Constitution, " the message of the  press service of the RA President read.

To note, the changes initiated by the Ministry of Justice propose the  creation of a specialized anti- corruption court. The court must have  at least 25 judges, 20 of whom will consider cases of corruption  offenses stipulated by Appendix 6 to the Criminal Code of the  Republic of Armenia, and 5 - cases arising from applications and  claims submitted on the basis of the Law "On Confiscation of Property  of Illegal Origin" ... The package of drafts also proposes the  creation of a specialized anti-corruption court of appeal, with at  least 10 judges. According to the proposed amendments, the criminal  chamber in the Court of Cassation will consist of 8 judges, and the  civil and administrative chambers - 13 judges each. The projects  establish the procedure for recruiting the department of  anti-corruption specialization, lists of candidates for judges of the  anti-corruption court and the department of anti-corruption  specialization, a list of candidates for judges to be promoted to the  anti-corruption court of appeal, as well as requirements and  restrictions for appointment to the position of a judge, structures  for checking the integrity of candidates for judges in all instances.  To improve the overall integrity of the bodies involved in the  anti-corruption institutional system, the package of projects  proposes to establish a requirement to conduct integrity studies for  prosecutors as well, which will help reduce corruption risks and  strengthen integrity in the prosecution system.