YEREVAN. – Second President Robert Kocharyan’s case hasn’t been assigned to any first instance court judge to this day, since the case is still pending before the Court of Cassation. Karen Poladyan, Head of the Judicial Department of Armenia, on Friday announced this speaking with reporters.
“According to my information, the President of the [capital city] Yerevan City Court has sent a letter to the Court of Cassation requesting that the case be sent to the court of first instance, so that the case be assigned [to a judge] for the simple reason that everyone’s concerns be remedied,” he said. “I believe the case will be sent to the Yerevan [Court of] General Jurisdiction—if not today, then on Monday or Tuesday—and the appropriate procedure will be carried out.
“The case is pending before the Court of Cassation. Until the Court of Cassation issues a final judicial act on the given case, that case can’t be heard at the first instance [court].”
Poladyan stressed that until the case is sent from the Court of Cassation to the court of first instance, it cannot be reassigned to a judge.
He noted that the court cases in Armenia are distributed through a computer program, and in the manner prescribed by law.
“At the moment that case doesn’t exist in the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction,” Poladyan added. “True, the powers of the judge [that is, Judge Davit Grigoryan presiding over Kocharyan’s case] have been suspended and 37 of the 43 cases pending in his case have been assigned [to other judges], but Kocharyan’s case is not assigned yet.”
On June 25, the Criminal Court of Appeal ruled to once again arrest Robert Kocharyan—who had earlier been released on the personal pledge by the former and incumbent Presidents of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), overturned first instance court Judge Davit Grigoryan ruling to suspend the proceedings of the case against Kocharyan and several other former senior officials—in connection with the events that occurred in Yerevan in March 2008, and sent the case for a new examination.
Robert Kocharyan’s legal defense, however, had appealed this decision to the Court of Cassation.
On March 1 and 2, 2008 the then authorities of Armenia used force against the opposition members who were rallying in downtown Yerevan, and against the results of the presidential election on February 19, 2008. Eight demonstrators as well as two servicemen of the internal troops were killed in the clashes.
Second President Robert Kocharyan is charged with overthrowing the constitutional order in Armenia in connection with the aforesaid events, and taking a particularly large bribe.
