Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan received today the high-ranking delegation led by Director General of the Directorate General for Rule of Law and Human Rights of the Council of Europe Christos Giacoumopoulos.

Greeting the delegation, the Prosecutor General highly appreciated the longstanding experience and results of the cooperation and attached importance to the fact that the delegation is visiting Armenia now, taking into consideration the launch of new reforms in human rights protection and the judicial and legal systems and in the fight against corruption.

In his turn, Christos Giacoumopoulos said the Council of Europe would like to provide short-term and long-term expert support to the reforms that have been launched and that the purpose of the delegation’s visit is to become more familiar with the current situation and Armenia’s needs.

Davtyan noted that the Prosecutor General’s Office plays a direct role in the establishment of a legal base for reforms and is part of the task forces created for that purpose. From the perspective of raising the level of effectiveness of the fight against corruption, the Prosecutor General considered the implementation of necessary legislative reforms for expansion of legal mechanisms for the return of assets stolen from the State a priority.

According to the Prosecutor General, the reforms in the fight against corruption and the judicial-legal sector must arise from the fundamental principles of checks-and-balances and human rights protection and must fully comply with the standards of international commitments assumed by Armenia, especially European law and the Constitution of Armenia.

Issues on the exercise of the right to fair trial, the independence of the Prosecutor General’s Office in terms of status and functions, as well as the perspectives for the adoption of the new Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code were discussed during the meeting.

The delegates emphasized, with satisfaction, the fact that the recommendations of the GRECO on the Prosecutor General’s Office are completely implemented.