David Avetisyan, the Chairman of the Criminal Chamber of the RA Court of Cessation, is still sure that the major problem of justice is that the public doesn’t participate in the realization of real justice.
Mr. Avetisyan said: “The public is not involved in the functions of justice in any way, thus distrust exists towards the courts, as in case of not participating you cannot see how justice is realized; so you do not believe in it”.
By reflecting to the international practice he stated those countries where the public has a big trust towards justice; in UK a Juror’s system acts: “80 percent of the cases are heard by Magistrates, they are common citizens. It should be noted that they carry out their functions free of charge and on voluntary basis. We can examine the USA or other countries like France and Germany that apply the Anglo-Saxon or Rome German (the Roman law) institute. In above mentioned countries the public participates in the realization of justice”.
Notably, last year when the New Draft Constitution was circulated, it referred to the introduction of Juror’s institute as well. Although this provision was not included in the new Constitution, but Mr. Avetisyan still believes that one day Juror’s or Assize’s institute will be introduced and the public will participate in the realization of justice.
Mr. Avetisyan brought an example from Georgia as well: “Juror’s Court acts there, they have an interesting practice: it examined not all cases, but only two categories of cases, which are deeply connected to the formation of public trust. They are cases referring to the high-ranking officials and life imprisonment offenses. As far as I communicated with my colleagues, they are satisfied with this system; it helps in the formation of trust towards the courts”.
It is stated that unlike the above mentioned countries Armenia has a small number of population: a fact that poses risks. Referring to this Mr. Avetisyan mentioned: “Georgia has the same number of population as Armenia has, but this system works there. Here, distrust towards the institutions exists. They say everybody knows each other in our country, so that system will not work here; but it is not so. During the soviet years we had the Juror’s system and it worked very effectively. I should mention that in the UK, the citizens apply for Magistrates themselves and it is not clear whether they will be paid or not, but very often they are paid, as it is a great honor for the institutions that their representative works as a Magistrate in the court. Thus, we should not be afraid of it and should make steps to the realization of this mechanism; I’m sure this system will work.”
Gevorg Tosunyan
