YEREVAN. – The Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia (RA), Rustam Badasyan, recently addressed the civil society-government conference, entitled “2019-2023 RA Judicial and Legal Reforms Strategy in the Context of Increasing Public Trust,” and which was convened in capital city Yerevan.

Badasyan stressed that this ambitious program of the Armenian government cannot be implemented unless everyone participates in the process aimed at forming a single view on reforms.

In the context of carrying out a judicial reform in Armenia, the minister referred, in particular, to the introduction of e-justice tools aimed at accessibility to justice in the country. In the context of e-justice, he also underscored that there will be no sectoral approach.

The minister of justice added that the government has adopted a balanced approach toward the judiciary in Armenia.

Furthermore, Badasyan emphasized that there is no disposition towards the judiciary, and that disciplinary proceedings towards judges will be launched solely if there is a conviction that the high threshold for subjecting a judge to disciplinary liability has been overcome.

In his words, however, these reforms will not be limited to Armenia’s judiciary alone, they will also be implemented in the country’s prosecution system and investigative bodies, and they will not “bypass” the bankruptcy, law practicing, and enforcement domains as well.

In terms of introducing transitional justice in Armenia, Rustam Badasyan highlighted that the respective objective is to focus on the future, not the past.

And with respect to making constitutional amendments, the minister of justice informed that a specialized group that is devoid of political guidance will be formed in February 2020, and it will determine the directions on which a constitutional reform needs to be developed.

Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, and several others also attended the aforesaid conference.