Monday, April 12 2021 12:59

ArmInfo.  Armenian President  Armen Sarkissian decided to check the constitutionality of the Law"  On Amendments and Additions to the Judicial Code of the Republic of  Armenia", sent to him by the Parliament for signature on March 22  this year.

Thus, according to the press service of the President of the Republic  of Armenia, on March 22 of this year, a legislative package on  amendments and additions to the Judicial Code of the Republic of  Armenia (hereinafter referred to as the Law) was received from the  Parliament for the signature of the Head of State.  It is recalled  that the President of the Republic discussed the law with the  Minister of Justice, the Chairman of the State Legal Commission of  the National Assembly, and received their explanations. The law was  also discussed with the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council,  legal scholars, experts and lawyers, representatives of civil  society, and their views and concerns were heard.

It is also emphasized that the head of state pays great attention to  reforms in the judicial sphere, believes that they should be carried  out systematically, on the basis of a clear strategy, within the  framework of a common vision. "This vision and strategy should be  based on a serious analysis of existing and really relevant problems,  expert research and a serious analysis of international experience,  to offer systematic logically interrelated solutions aimed at  improving the efficiency of the judicial system, the effective  exercise of the right to a fair trial, as well as the independence of  judges and strengthening the guarantees of inviolability.

The decisions proposed by the law are situational in terms of  significantly problematic legal certainty, proportionality,  separation of powers, as well as compliance with constitutional  principles and requirements for the independence of the judiciary.

On the basis of the above, summarizing the expert opinions, it can be  concluded that the Law significantly contradicts the Constitution. In  this regard, the President of the Republic decided to appeal to the  Constitutional Court to determine the compliance of the  above-mentioned Law with the Constitution, " the press service of the  President of the Republic of Armenia noted.

On March 19, at an extraordinary session of the National Assembly,  the draft law on amendments and additions to the RA Judicial Code  with the attached package was adopted, proposed by the deputies of  the faction V. Vardanyan, A. Karapetyan, A. Davtyan, V.   Hovakimyan and S. Atomyan.

During the discussions, the leader of the opposition faction  "Enlightened Armenia" Edmon Marukyan expressed his conviction that  the judicial system is once again deteriorating with this bill. "I  don't understand how you can support a bill that restricts the rights  of a lawyer. On the one hand, the judge is limited, on the other-the  SCC has the authority to consider the case. I think it would be good  to withdraw the project, because it will cause problems, " he said.

It should be noted that the amendments initiated by the Ministry of  Justice propose the creation of a specialized anti-corruption court.   The court must consist of at least 25 judges, 20 of whom will  consider cases of corruption crimes provided for in Annex 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 projects  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 set out the procedure for completing the  anti-corruption specialization department, lists of candidates for  judges of the anti-corruption court and for the anti-corruption  specialization department, 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  judge, and structures for checking the integrity of candidates for  judges in all instances. In order to increase the overall integrity  of the bodies involved in the anti-corruption institutional system,  the package of projects proposes to establish a requirement for  conducting a integrity study for candidates for prosecutors, which  will help reduce corruption risks and strengthen integrity in the  prosecutor's office system.