Today, on 12 May, the annual report on the activities of the Human Rights Defender for 2019 continues to be discussed in the National Assembly. During the exchange of views, MP Arman Babajanyan made a speech. He, deviating from the topic, spoke about yesterday’s, 11 May discussion of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan.

“During the discussion with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan spared no effort and energy to prove to the Prime Minister why, in Armenia, is not possible to carry out widespread vetting of judges and transitional justice. Why is it not possible to implement the rules of morality and not the rules of law, which will force judges to adopt a different style of work than before? In practice, Rustam Badasyan set a record yesterday in how to convince the leader of the revolution that it is not the revolutionary changes that are right, but the preservation of all for which that revolution took place. And this is in the case when today we have to hear from Nikol Pashinyan and from the Minister of Justice of the political majority, the report on the assignment given by the RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on 24 May, exactly one year ago, to develop a strategy for carrying out large-scale reforms in the judicial system. But instead, we heard the Minister of Justice report to the Prime Minister that they had completely failed to carry out his own instructions. Thus, Rustam Badasyan stated yesterday that the rules of real vetting, real transitional justice and morality should be forgotten, as it turns out that the Constitution, the Venice Commission, and everything that is possible hinders their application,” Arman Babajanyan said.

He also noted that yesterday it was registered that the Prime Minister is satisfied with the justifications of his Minister of Justice on keeping the judicial system as far away from the revolution as possible. “Which are almost identical with the arguments of the ministers who violated justice in our country, Arpine Hovhannisyan, Davit Harutyunyan, Hrayr Tovmasyan and the evidence brought,” he said.