On 27 July, students of 9th stream of the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders, the 1st anti-corruption professional educational initiative operating in the Republic of Armenia, within the framework of the master classes and practical skills development phase of the school were hosted at the Academy of Advocates and met with the Rector of the Academy, Ara Zohrabyan.

The Rector, receiving the students, noted that in order to effectively fight against corruption, everyone should start from themselves.

“One of the biggest problems in the fight against corruption is the idea that ‘everyone is doing it, I will do it too.’ This is how children learn smoking and other bad things. Everyone smokes, if I don’t smoke, they will call me “a girl”… You have to learn to reject evil, that is the most important thing,” he said.

In his speech, Ara Zohrabyan also referred to the perceptions of lawyers, both 20 years ago and now. He mentioned that in the past, judges did not take lawyers seriously, but the integrity and correct behavior of individual representatives of the community changed that attitude.

“Corruption is destroying our profession. Even in the 14th century, Grigor Tatevatsi, being a clergyman, gave 4 reasons for the failure of justice: bribery, hypocrisy, fear and ignorance. These 4 reasons “bend” justice,” the Rector of the Academy said.

The Deputy Head of the Office of Public Defender, Tamara Baghdasaryan, welcomed the students at the Office. She presented the main functions of the Office to the students.

Thus, the Public Defender is a lawyer who acts upon the representation of the Head of the Office based on the employment contract signed with the Chairman of the Chamber of Advocates. The Public Defender is paid from the state budget in the amount and manner established by law.

“Free legal assistance in criminal cases is provided through the appointment of a Public Defender by the Head of the Office based on the decision of the body conducting the proceedings. Free legal aid in civil, administrative and constitutional cases, is provided by the Head of the Office on the basis of citizens’ applications in the manner prescribed by law,” Tamara Baghdasaryan said.

Let’s also add that some participants of the school are thinking about becoming a lawyer.

Notably, the training in the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders will be organized in the following phases:

1. ONLINE TRAINING PHASE, during which the students will pass a basic anti-corruption course consisting of 25 topics through the school’s online anti-corruption training platform. Those students who have completed all the knowledge test questionnaires and received the appropriate points for completing the online training will be considered completed the online training phase.
2. MASTER CLASS AND PRACTICAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PHASE, during which students who have successfully completed the advanced stage of school will be divided into groups and each group will conduct a study, monitoring or investigation on one of the in-depth anti-corruption topics. During this phase, the work will be organized in the form of group meetings, discussions, and meetings with representatives of the sectors and other relevant bodies and organizations. Attendees will learn a range of innovative tools and gain related skills. At this stage, mentoring for groups is planned.
3. PUBLIC AWARENESS PHASE, during which students who have successfully completed the practical skills development phase of the school will have the opportunity to disseminate their anti-corruption knowledge among young people through public awareness seminars.
4. ADVANCED TRAINING PHASE, during which the best 15-20 participants who have achieved high results in the online training phase of the school, successfully completed the in-depth interview phase and are selected, will participate in the outreach (out of Yerevan) in-depth anti-corruption training. The in-depth training phase of the school will consist of the modules: “Anti-Corruption Advanced Training” and “Pillars of National Identity”.
5. FINAL PHASE, during which the students, who have successfully completed the practical skills development and public awareness stages of the school, will present their research and public awareness results to the reputable jury and the public.

Students who have passed and successfully graduated from all five phases of the School will be awarded GRADUATION CERTIFICATES of Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders.

The Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders was founded by Karen Zadoyan, the President of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, a member of the Anti-Corruption Policy Council. “The Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO is organizing the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders in cooperation with the CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia.

The information partner of the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders is Iravaban.net,  independent professional news website.