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Armenia's judicial system becoming ineffective

29 September 2014 14:37 (UTC+04:00)
Armenia's judicial system becoming ineffective

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Judicial system in Armenia is becoming ineffective day by day because of losing public trust.

Armenian courts have become a source of injustice as judges act under the instruction of authorities rather than the constitution.

"Armenia lacks a fair judicial system as all decisions are adopted at the presidential administration," Head of the Helsinki Citizen's Assembly's Vanadzor office, Artur Sakunts said.

Touching upon Souren Khachatryan's recent reappointment as Syunik province mayor, Sakunts noted that the move clearly explains the current events in the country.

He added that the criminal case against Khachatryan, his son and their bodyguard was allegedly falsified to release them from liability and keep them untouchable. "After the reproachful results of the falsified documents, Khacahtryan was acquitted of accusations along with his son and guard," Sakunts noted.

This came as Khachatryan was embroiled in a deadly shooting incident near his home in Goris village of Syunik region, where Avetik Budagyan was deadly shot by his son Tigran.

The Socioscope Societal Research and Consultancy Center carried out a survey in Armenia to assess the condition of human rights in the country.

The survey revealed that people see the courts and judges in Armenia as the second main breakers of human rights. About 11 percent of the articles presented by nine media outlets underlined the unfair judicial acts and procedure by the courts in the post-Soviet country.

Human rights activist noted that the authorities of the country ignore the public opinion. Sakunts highlighted Shant Harutunyan's case as the authorities altered the verdict to blame him for criminal action. Harutunyan was arrested on November 5, 2013, with his followers in Yerevan for anti-governmental accusations and attempts to start a "revolution" in the country.

"The unfair moves of courts increased after September 3, because the country was in the process of Eurointegration. But now, all issues in Armenia are settled in the cabinets. That cynicism fully fits with the Eurasian Economic Union's policy. The Armenian authorities do not bear responsibility neither before their own society, nor the European institutions," Sakunts said.

Corruption is underlined as one of the key problems of Armenia's judicial system. Analysts say the country's court system is among the most bribed fields. The human Rights Report 2013 indicated that Armenian judicial system is tainted with corruption and political pressure. Global Corruption Barometer 2013 backs this fact by stating that almost three out of four surveyed citizens in Armenia accepted the judiciary to be an extremely corrupt institution. It states that 69 percent of Armenian citizens consider the judiciary to be 'corrupt' or 'extremely corrupt'.

Judges themselves are suspected to be engaged in corrupt activities. Nations in Transit 2013 data reports that there are a number of ongoing investigations into the records of some judges suspected of accepting bribes.

Judicial system in Armenia fails to carry out its mission as defined in the country's constitution. Most of the court proceeding lack impartiality, as they depend on the instructions of ruling elite. Findings published by Ombudsman Karen Andreasian on December 9, 2013 showed that bribe-taking is rampant in Armenian courts. It claimed that judges even use an unofficial price list for kickbacks, while the amount of bribes in the courts can allegedly go up to $50,000.

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