The court of general jurisdiction of Yerevan on Monday distributed the burden of proof in the lawsuit of Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The aforesaid civil lawsuit refers to the slanderous remarks made by Pashinyan during the rally in Yerevan's Republic Square on March 1 last year. In April, Kocharyan's lawyer, Hayk Alumyan, had filed a lawsuit with a request to protect his client’s honor and dignity from this publicly expressed slander and a compensation for non-pecuniary damage caused by this slander.

The court ruled that the plaintiff must prove that it submitted facts about Pashinyan in connection with what happened at Republic Square, must prove that these facts were submitted in public, and must prove that these facts defame the plaintiff's honor and dignity.

The second president’s attorney, Hayk Alumyan, stated that the court had acted unprofessionally with such decision as, according to him, the burden of proof is mainly placed on the respondent.

The court scheduled the next hearing for April 13, during which the parties shall submit their evidence to the court.