Ministry of Justice Addresses Connection Between Minister and 'Concern Dialog'

The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia announces that Minister Rustam Badasyan is not a shareholder of the law firm 'Concern Dialog' and currently has no connection to the company. Badasyan's shares were already sold in May 2018.

This information was provided by the Information and Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia. In the June 20 issue of the 'Zhamanak' newspaper, it was mentioned that the newly appointed Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan is a shareholder of the law firm associated with former deputy justice minister Aram Orbelyan, who is a lawyer for Robert Kocharyan.

The Ministry of Justice clarifies that Minister Badasyan is neither a shareholder of the mentioned company nor currently has any ties to it. As stated, Badasyan's shares were sold in May 2018.

Regarding the cooperation between the Ministry of Justice and 'Concern Dialog', it is worth noting that according to the 3rd point of the annex to the law on 'Structure and Activities of the Government', the Ministry of Justice ensures the protection of the interests of the Republic of Armenia in international courts.

According to subpoint 'b' of the 1st point of the 2nd part of the decision number 526-N of the Government of the Republic of Armenia dated May 4, 2017, purchases outside the territory of the Republic of Armenia are carried out according to the procedure approved by the head of the respective state management body if the price of the goods, work, or services exceeds seventy times the basic purchase unit.

Thus, the procurement procedure for legal and attorney services in order to protect the interests of the Republic of Armenia in a specific case is confirmed by an order issued by the Minister of Justice, which regulates the organization of the selection process for a professional firm providing legal and attorney services through competitive methods, summarizing the results, and the relations for signing a purchase contract with the preferred candidate.

A relevant commission is formed under this procedure, which carries out the selection of an international company providing legal services. During 2018-2019, international companies were selected as representatives in the cases filed against the Republic of Armenia.

Of these cases, only one involves 'Concern Dialog' as a local subcontractor, while the international company acts as the representative for the Republic of Armenia, and local subcontractors are presented at their suggestion.

For example, in relation to the disputes arising from the contract number T1-T2-CW-01 between the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technologies and 'Korsan Kervi Kem Construction' company, the international company 'Lalive' was selected to provide legal services outside the Republic of Armenia to protect the interests of Armenia, which proposed 'Concern Dialog' as a local subcontractor.