On 25 January, two focus group discussions on the 5th to 9th objectives of the Action Plan stemming from the 2019-2023 Judicial and Legal Reform Strategy were held on the initiative of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association.

The first of the discussions was held with the participation of representatives of state bodies – the RA Ministry of Justice, the Commission for Prevention of Corruption, the Passport and Visa Department of the Police, the Academy of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, and Armenian Lawyers’ Association.

The second discussion was attended by members of the advocacy community, CSO representatives, and a non-judge member of the Ethics and Disciplinary Committee of the Association of Judges of the RA.

The 5th objective of the judicial strategy provides for the strengthening of the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. For this purpose, two strategic directions are defined and two actions are planned: including strengthening social guarantees stemming from the status of judges, increasing public perception of the role of the judiciary, and increasing trust in it.

The 6th objective is to improve the public accountability structures of the judiciary. The strategy envisages the publication of reports on the activities of the judiciary and statistics. The process of carrying out the two planned actions was discussed, according to which, for example, a structure for publishing reports summarizing the activities of courts operating in publicly available online mode and publishing statistics should be introduced.

The 7th objective also refers to the judicial system, the strategic directions of which are:

• Establishing grounds and procedures for imposing disciplinary responsibility on judges and members of the Supreme Judicial Council in accordance with international standards;
• Introduction of a balanced structure for assessing the integrity of judges and members of the Supreme Judicial Council;
• Adapting the grounds for imposing disciplinary responsibility to the objective of overcoming corruption.

The 8th objective envisages increasing the efficiency of the courts. The strategic directions are to reduce the workload of the courts, to ensure a reasonable period of time for the trial and to develop the capacity of the judges and their staff.

Issues were discussed as to whether judges are trained in the following areas:

a) Investigation of corruption, economic and official crimes;

(b) In parallel with the introduction of e-Justice tools, the development of judges’ skills in working with evidence on USB carriers is being developed;

c) rules of professional conduct and ethics;

d) The case law of the European Court of Human Rights on specific articles of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Or how many judges have been trained in each field so far? In total, how many judges should be trained? How effective is the training?

The 9th objective is to provide a common platform for services provided by state and local self-government bodies. For this purpose, it is planned

• Establishment of a joint office operating on the principle of “one window”,
• Association of subdivisions involved in state bodies providing expert services,
• Elaboration, discussion, presentation of the Draft Law “On Forensic Activity” to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Notably, a total of 4 similar discussions have already been held on 24 and 25 January.