The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) comprises two categories of entities, including judges who are elected by the General Council of Judges and have to meet requirements, including age and ten-year work experience, and academic lawyers who are elected by the parliament and have other tasks. Vladimir Vardanyan, MP of the ruling My Step bloc and Chair of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, said during today’s special session of the National Assembly of Armenia, commenting on the lawfulness of the nomination of Gagik Jhangiryan to the position of member of the SJC.

Vardanyan stated that statements on unlawfulness of the nomination of Gagik Jhangiryan to the position of member of the SJC were immediately published on social networks and in the mass media right after the announcement about the intention to nominate him, and the main reasons were the requirements for members of the SJC, particularly age. Jhangiryan is 65 years old, doesn’t have practice in the judiciary, and according to the law, a member of the SJC is required to have at least ten years of work experience.

According to Vardanyan, the law doesn’t set age restriction for scholars, and the requirements for academic lawyers are different from the requirements for judges. He also stated that there are no provisions that prohibit scholars from holding positions as members of the Supreme Judicial Council.

Vardanyan stated conviction of a crime and no active capacity in case a criminal case is launched against the candidate as the possible restrictions, adding that there is no criminal prosecution against Jhangiryan, and the court decision on the latter has been annulled.

Today the National Assembly is holding a special session to elect members of the SJC, and the ruling My Step faction has nominated Gagik Jhangiryan and Davit Khachaturyan. Extra-parliamentary opposition parties are against their appointment and state that the ruling party intends to control the judiciary by appointing Jhangiryan and hachaturyan.