Lack of Trust, Absence of Independence: What Are the Problems in the Judicial System According to a Candidate for BDC Membership

There is one sector where, despite the revolutionary changes, no radical break has occurred, and it concerns the judiciary. This was stated by Vigen Kocharyan, a candidate for membership in the Supreme Judicial Council, during his pre-election speech in the National Assembly. According to him, the first and most serious problem in the judicial system is the lack of public trust.

As a reason for this, he pointed out several issues in his speech. The first of these is independence. He distinguished between external and internal independence. As an example of external independence, he noted the judge's detachment from political and other influences, as well as from bribery. As an example of internal independence, the candidate referred to cases where judges are influenced or coordinate their decisions with senior colleagues. He stated that he knows cases where court presidents have torn up judges' decisions in front of them or thrown them in their faces. The candidate said that all of this is unacceptable in Armenia's current situation.

He also spoke about the heavy workload of courts and noted that the number of judges in Armenia is significantly lower compared to Europe. According to the candidate's calculations, the European average indicates there is one judge for every 100,000 people, totaling 21 judges, while in Armenia, there are only 6-7 judges.

At the conclusion of his pre-election speech, the candidate for BDC membership expressed his opinion that a historic moment has now arisen, allowing for changes to be made in the judicial system, which is also a matter of national security and should not be party-politicized. “Without such a judicial system, we cannot establish a complete atmosphere of justice in Armenia. It was precisely the lack of this atmosphere, this feeling, that drove thousands, tens of thousands of our citizens to leave their homeland. If we cannot solve this issue, it will be difficult to ensure our economic development, and it will be challenging to secure not only external but also internal investments,” Kocharyan stated.