The Public Council of Armenia held today a special session to discuss the current state of the judiciary in Armenia.

The members of the Council touched upon Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s call to close the entrances to and exits from all courts of Armenia and expressed different opinions, yet many expressed their concerns about this, stating that this working style doesn’t derive from the principles of building a legal state and solving problems exclusively within the scope of law.

President of the Public Council Vazgen Manukyan expressed his opinion on Pashinyan’s call and the events that followed and particularly said the following: “This situation can be very dangerous for our country. In all countries, the judiciary serves the law and must be independent from the legislative and executive branches of power and must only be guided by law. Yes, the state of the judiciary in Armenia is troubling, and of course, there is a need for reforms. In this sense, the Supreme Judicial Council has wide powers, and those problems can be solved without vetting or transitional justice.”

The President of the Public Council also expressed his opinion on transitional justice, stating that there are no appropriate preconditions for that in Armenia and that it will have a greater negative impact on Armenia’s international reputation.

Summing up the discussion, the Public Council decided to closely follow the process of judicial reforms that the Government and the National Assembly of Armenia have undertaken and use the platform of the Public Council to organize discussions with experts and professionals and express positions and make recommendations to the government following those discussions.