We Are Cuddly, But the Courts Are Not: The Speaker of Parliament's Godfather Complains to Europeans

The "Iravunk" newspaper reports that according to information received by "Iravunk," Vladimir Vardanyan, the godfather of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ararat Mirzoyan, recently met with the UN Development Program (UNDP) delegation in Armenia. At the request of Jason Gliuk, an expert in political dialogue and constitutional processes for the UNDP, he presented the existing legal challenges within Armenia's judicial system.

During this meeting, Vardanyan opened the bag of complaints and attempted to convey to the Europeans that they are cuddly, while the courts are not.

Specifically, Vardanyan stated that since the so-called Velvet Revolution, the authorities have publicly declared multiple times that they will exclude and prevent any interference in the courts' activities. At the same time, he noted that the independence of the judiciary implies not only independence from the executive or legislative branches, but first and foremost, from any external interference. He further added, "Unfortunately, there are still corrupt traditions evident in the judicial system, and several months ago, a criminal prosecution was initiated against one of the judges on charges of accepting a bribe."

Vladimir Vardanyan mentioned that, according to the opinions of international partners, there are noticeable positive shifts in the executive and legislative branches, while positive changes in the judicial system are not as apparent. However, it is difficult to ascertain which international partners have expressed such views, as the report published by the Venice Commission states the exact opposite. It's also hard to determine if the Europeans have bought into this narrative and whether they are unaware of the direct attempts to interfere in the courts' activities, starting from phone calls for justice to blocking access to courts.

Further details can be found in today's issue of the newspaper.