Although the RA Chamber of Advocates has previously referred to the process of suspending lawyer Seda Safaryan’s license, as well as the details of the decision on suspension, considering the recent discussions and various comments in the mass media, the Chamber considers it appropriate to refer to the mentioned question again.
Thus.
“Lawyer Seda Safaryan’s license was suspended according to the procedure in provided by the legal regulations.
According to part 1 of Article 36 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Profession of Advocate (hereinafter referred to as the Law), among others, the operation of the lawyer’s license is suspended if the lawyer has entered the public service or has been appointed a notary. The license shall be suspended during the entire term of holding a public position, state service, and community service or notary activity.
Moreover, according to the law, the authority to suspend the operation of the Advocate’s license is vested to the Board of the Chamber of Advocates, and the lawyer is obliged to inform the Board of the Chamber of Advocates within ten days after the grounds for suspension appears.
At the same time, according to part 9 of Article 36 of the Law, the decision to suspend or refuse to restore the Advocate’s license can be appealed in a court within one month of receiving it.
On 30.11.2022, the RA Chamber of Advocates received an application to suspend Seda Safaryan’s lawyer’s license No. 116, with which she requested to suspend the license from 08.12.2022.
As a basis, Seda Safaryan attached:
- Resolution No. 963-A of the RA Government dated 30.06.2022 on nominating a candidate for the post of judge of the Constitutional Court.
- A copy of the declaration by which Seda Safaryan gave her consent to be elected as a judge of the Constitutional Court.
- The 15.09.2022 Decision No. NDO-45-A of the RA National Assembly: on the election of Seda Safaryan as a judge of the Constitutional Court for a period of 12 years.
No basis was mentioned or attached to the application for suspension, which would prove the suspension of Seda Safaryan’s lawyer’s license on 08.12.2022..
On 15.12.2022, the Board of the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia, having examined the application for suspension of the validity of the license, has satisfied it, suspending the license of legal activity No. 116 from the date of submission of the application, which is 30.11.2022.
The Board of the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia could not reasonably predict why the date of 08.12.2022 was mentioned in the application for suspension. During the suspension process, the issue of suspension during the period chosen by the lawyer is not discussed. The issue of suspension arises exclusively from the moment such a reason arises, about which the lawyer is obliged to inform the Board within 10 days, and if this reason has not yet appeared, then it is illogical to apply to the Board for suspension. At the same time, Seda Safaryan did not appeal the decision of suspension within the time limit provided by the law.
Therefore, the Board of the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia considered and approved the application submitted by Sedsa Safaryan on the date of its submission, taking into account the existence of the relevant basis and the objective expectation of the exclusion of the simultaneous existence of the statuses of a Judge of the Constitutional Court and a lawyer.
Taking all the above into account, we state that the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia acted within the framework of the existing legal regulations and did not hinder the activity of the lawyer or the judicial protection of the rights of the lawyer’s clients with its actions,” the statement of the Chamber reads.
