Armenia needs to have an independent anti-corruption body that will deal with the prevention of corruption. This is what Minister of Justice of Armenia Rustam Badasyan said during a discussion on the 2019-2022 Anti-Corruption Strategy at the National Assembly today.

“We need to have an independent anti-corruption body that will deal with the disclosure, prevention and investigation of corruption crimes, and the other components of the body will be a supplement to the relevant subdivision of the Prosecutor General’s Office that will deal with oversight over lawfulness of the investigation and the creation of anti-corruption courts. The first body is an anti-corruption body for prevention, that is, the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, and we hope to see the establishment and appointed members of the Commission in September or October,” he said.

According to the minister, the next step is the expansion of the powers of the Commission in the education sector.

“The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption will have an additional power to institute disciplinary proceedings against judges on the ground of property and submit them to the Supreme Judicial Council to ensure processing,” he added.