Judges to Be Selected through Psychological Testing, Says Badasyan

In order to become a judge, candidates must pass a psychological test. This was announced today by the Minister of Justice of Armenia, Rustam Badasyan, during a parliamentary hearing dedicated to discussing amendments to the "Judicial Code of the Republic of Armenia" and related legislative proposals held by the permanent committee on state-legal issues.

The psychological testing platform is a requirement of the new legislative draft, and the electronic platform is to be developed anew. The age limit for candidates wishing to become judges has been reduced from the current 28 to 25.

In response to the question of why reforms in the judicial-legal system have decided to start precisely from the judicial system, the minister stated that the judicial system and the judiciary play a key role in establishing justice.

The draft also establishes procedures for initiating proceedings in cases of corruption and disciplinary violations by judges. It proposes changing the number of members of the Ethics and Disciplinary Issues Commission to 8, with 2 of them to be nominated by NGOs, requiring that they be legal scholars.

Additionally, it is planned to create a Commission for Evaluating Judges' Performance, which will consist of 5 members. This commission will discuss issues related to the distribution of cases by judges, the reasonable time frame for hearings, and conduct-related issues during sessions.

“Another innovation is that if a violation of substantive or procedural law is found to be intentional or grossly negligent, the Evaluation Commission may submit a proposal to discuss initiating disciplinary proceedings,” Badasyan noted.