Justice Minister Rustam Badasian has visited Strasbourg to discuss with high-ranking officials from the Council of Europe judicial reforms planned by the Armenian government.
The Armenian Justice Ministry said on Wednesday that Badasian met with met with Council of Europe’s secretary general, Thorbjorn Jagland, and director general for human rights and rule of law, Christos Giakoumopoulos, as well as the president of the Venice Commission, Gianni Buquicchio. It said they spoke about a “broad range of work to be done in the area of judicial reforms.”
A Council of Europe delegation headed by Giakoumopoulos visited Yerevan a month ago following a May 22 phone conversation between Jagland and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. An official readout of the phone call said the two men agreed that Council of Europe experts will offer the Armenian authorities “advice and assistance with the necessary reforms.”
Jagland and Pashinian spoke two days after the latter accused the Armenian judiciary of remaining closely linked to the country’s “corrupt” former leadership and called for a mandatory “vetting” of all judges. Pashinian told Giakoumopoulos on May 31 that his administration wants to cooperate with the Council of Europe in reforming Armenian courts.
“The Armenian side appreciates the Council of Europe’s valuable engagement in this important process for our country,” Armenia’s Permanent Representation in Strasbourg said on Tuesday in a tweet about Badasian’s meeting with Jagland.
Both the Council of Europe and the European Union have expressed readiness to assist in the planned reforms. They have stressed that the reforms must conform to Armenia’s constitution and international commitments.
Pashinian has repeatedly said that he wants to make the judicial system “truly independent.” His domestic critics say, however, he is on the contrary seeking to gain control over the courts.
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