Armenia continues to face excessive lengths of civil trials - Andrea  Wiktorin

ArmInfo. A round-table conference entitled "Are judicial reforms fast and good enough for the needs of the business sector in Armenia?" was held at the Mariott  Armenia Hotel, Yerevan, on Thursday. 

Below is a press release by the EU Delegation to Armenia: 

The government supported by foreign donors is undertaking massive  efforts to reform the judiciary. But are the reforms deep enough and  the pace fast enough for the needs of the business sector in Armenia?  These and other topics were discussed at a round-table conference,  organized by the European Business Association (EBA) and the European  Union project to support the Consolidation of the Justice System in  Armenia on 20th January 2022 at the Mariott Hotel in Yerevan. 

"Armenia continues to face excessive lengths of civil trials, among  other things, due to cumbersome judicial procedures and court  management leading to an accumulation of backlogs", said the Head of  European Union Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin in  her opening speech. Ambassador Wiktorin connected predictable,  timely, and enforceable justice decisions with trust and stability in  the society and thereby a business environment conducive to  entrepreneurial activity and investment. The European Union is the  first trade partner of Armenia, with close to one-third of the  exports going to the EU, and is also the biggest donor in Armenia. 

The Deputy Minister of Justice Yeranuhi Tumanyants in her opening  speech mentioned: "Cooperation with international partners is  extremely important in solving the problems set by the state and  achieving its goals. Programs implemented with the support of  international partners have played a significant role in the success  of justice reform. The achievements within the framework of the  "Consolidation of the Justice System in Armenia" program are vivid  evidence of that. 

The Deputy Minister of Justice added that the Ministry of Justice of  Armenia highly appreciates the cooperation with international  partners and is convinced that it will be continuous.

"The judicial system is one of the most important parts for any  foreign investor and it is still one of the top five priorities that  companies mention repeatedly in the market exploratory survey  conducted every year by the EBA", said Ms. Diana Sarumova, executive  director of the European Business Association. EBA co- organized the  round table to provide an opportunity for the business community for  getting an update on improvements of the reform process but also to  discuss obstacles. 

During the conference, participants discussed a number of issues  related to alternative Dispute resolution and its cost-effectiveness  in comparison to the court procedure, whether mediation outperforms  direct negotiation and if arbitral awards are difficult to enforce.   Around the table were also discussed the Justice reform and sector  policies, customs procedure and administrative law, competition law,  and civil procedure as well as the choice of law and jurisdiction

Ms. Tereza Thalhamer, the project director from IRZ said about the  event: "Within our project "Consolidation of the Justice System in  Armenia", operated by IRZ and our partners Expertise France and Court  Administration of Latvia, we seek to support the business environment  by reforming judicial procedures and promoting alternative dispute  resolution. We are happy that, together with our co-organizer EBA, we  managed to convene such a diverse and relevant audience today to  discuss the status quo, and we look forward to hearing in what way we  can contribute even more to this regard".

The "Consolidation of the Justice System in Armenia" project is  implemented by the German Foundation for International Legal  Cooperation (IRZ), Expertise France, and The Court Administration of  the Republic of Latvia. The project is funded by the European Union.