Today, the student of the School on Practical Skills for Young Lawyers met with Mr. Hovsep Bedevyan, the Chairman of the Administrative Court of Appeal. “I immediately responded to the request to meeting with you as tis is an interesting initiative, young people studying in various universities have gathered together.”
At the beginning Mr. Bedevyan spoke about the history of the establishment of the Administrative Court and its current structure, the cases that are examined in the administrative courts, which are the cases of special proceeding, the procedures and the composition for their consideration, as well as about the problems that exist in the sphere.
He said that one of the most important changes in the sphere was that now we have specialized courts and judges. If previously all the judges examined cases in various fields, today we have judges who for example consider the bankruptcy cases, the criminal cases involving juveniles etc. “My personal opinion is that judges should be more specialized because it significantly increases the quality of justice. Judicial acts adopted in 2005 and legal acts adopted nowadays cannot be compares,” Mr. Bedevyan said.
Referring to the history of the administrative court, Hovsep Bedevyan told that initially it was quite difficult to overcome the mentality that “it is impossible to win a case from the State.” Citizens did not believe that they could defeat the administrative body. The administrative bodies in their turn were inimical against the decisions of the courts that were against them. Now the situation has changed.”
Chairman of the Administrative Court of Appeal also answered the students questions related to the professional issues as well as about the personal preferences. In reply to the question how the administrative court selects qualified personnel as this branch is quite new (The Court of First Instance was established in 2008), and at the same time no special emphasis on this sector is made at the universities, Hovsep Bedevyan said that it a really complicated issue. For example, if the judge chooses an assistant he works and teaches the latter and trains a qualified personnel.
A Question concerning the salaries of court employee was asked as well. Mr. Bedevyan noted that as a result of the low salaries the qualified personnel often prefer to work in the private sector, and the only motivation of working in court is the expectation that later they would become a judge.
After the meeting with the Chairman of the Administrative Court of Appeal, the students attended some court hearings at the Administrative Court of Appeal.
The School on Practical Skills for Young Lawyers organized by the “LEGAL ALLIANCE” Law Firm.
The information partner of the school is the independent news website Iravaban.net.
Also read:
A Visit to OSCE Yerevan Office
Getting to “Yes”: Negotiation Skills.
Drafting of Power of Attorney: School on Practical Skills for Young Lawyers.
School on Practical Skills for Young Lawyers: Legal English and Administrative Acts.
Drafting Claims: School on Practical Skills for Young Lawyers.
Drafting Proper and Correct Contract: School on Practical Skills for Young Lawyers.
Students of the School for Young Lawyers visited the Chamber of Advocates.
