Ruzanna Azroyan was appointed a judge of the Administrative Court on 20 September, 2018. After practicing law for 4 years, she decided to change her job. During the interview with Iravaban.net, for the “Judges of Armenia” series, Azroyan mentioned that she did not regret choosing this path, but holding the position of a judge has good and bad sides.
– In 2018, when the Supreme Judicial Council was formed, the members of the council raised the issue of the material and technical equipment of the courts. How was the issue resolved during these 3 years?
– I did not notice it. I was appointed in 2018, nothing has changed since my appointment. Only computers have been updated. There are problems, I have not noticed any serious progress in that respect.
– Why did you decide to become a judge? People mainly leave the prosecutorial and judicial system to work as lawyers.
– The judicial system has always fascinated me. It seemed to me that as a judge I would be able to do much more. There were cases when I did not agree with the court acts as a lawyer, I could not do anything other than complain. I always dreamed of becoming a judge, it was a coveted position for me at that time. In my opinion, for a lawyer, the position of a judge is the high status you aspire to. I have strived for it, and now that I have been appointed, I do my job with great pleasure. In the conditions of overload I did not even regret that I became a judge.
– Were the expectations justified?
– To some extent, yes, to some extent, no. I was very disappointed in terms of judge’s social guarantees and judge’s protection. I imagined the judicial system differently. It seemed to me that as a judge I would feel more protected, but that is not the case. The pressures are high, salaries are low in modern conditions. It may seem relatively high, but the judge’s salary has not changed in the last 10 years. Judges have almost no social guarantees. Pensions are decreasing. Social security was one of the reasons I was seeking a judge. One of the motivations was that when I retire, I will have a high pension. Now the judge’s pension is very low. The lawyers are in a better condition now. They can be highly paid, accumulate that money and not work in the future.
– According to the public perception, judges examining criminal cases are under pressure. Can you tell us what obstacles the judges of the administrative court face?
– I have not encountered any obstacles during my tenure, there has been no pressure on me. The main pressure I feel on myself is from the society. We perceive pressure in the form of a call: they call and say that the judicial act should be like this. Pressure is not the only thing: you hear so many insults, so many curses, and so much criticism, that your hands fall down. Most judges work with great dedication. There is no such weekend that we do not come to work, we do not go home before 20:00, 21:00. It is very sad that after so much work you enter the social network and hear only discrediting words.
Details in the video.
