Venice Commission Finds Judicial Code Package Praiseworthy

Today, on October 11, in Venice, the 120th plenary session of the "Democracy through Law European Commission (Venice Commission)" has commenced, during which two opinions were approved based on applications from the Government of the Republic of Armenia. This was reported by the Ministry of Justice's Information and Public Relations Department.

In August of this year, Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan had approached the Commission to request an expert opinion on amendments initiated in the constitutional law "Judicial Code" and related laws. Subsequently, Minister Badasyan requested the Venice Commission to provide an opinion on the constitutional impact of the Council of Europe Convention on "Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence."

During the plenary session, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Maria Pejčinović Burić, delivered a speech, exchanging views with the European Union's Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement, Johannes Hahn.

At the invitation of the Commission, a delegation led by Armenia's Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan also participated in the Venice plenary session. The delegation included Deputy Minister of Justice Kristinne Grigoryan, Armenia's representative to the European Court of Human Rights Yeghishe Kirakosyan, and Chairman of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs Vladimir Vardanyan.

In his speech, the Minister of Justice expressed gratitude to the Commission and the Council of Europe for their active and effective cooperation with the Armenian government and for providing their opinions.

Minister Badasyan informed the Commission about the Government’s reform agenda, noting that just yesterday, the Judicial and Legal Reforms Strategy and Action Plan were approved, and last week the Anti-Corruption Strategy and its Action Plan.

Rustam Badasyan emphasized that it is important for the Ministry that the Commission has positively evaluated the reform agenda undertaken, particularly noting in its opinion that the amendments to the judicial code are aimed at ensuring a higher level of impartiality among judges and that they will be more effective in combating corruption.

Secretary General Maria Pejčinović Burić indicated that the opinion prepared by the Venice Commission regarding the Convention is very important for all member states, considering that the Commission provides impartial expert opinions on constitutional matters in the Council of Europe.

Addressing the Commission, European Union Commissioner Johannes Hahn welcomed and drew the Commission’s attention to the fact that the European Union is also involved in the development of judicial and legal reforms in Armenia, happily noting that these reforms aim to ensure the independence and accountability of the judicial system based on European standards.

Summarizing the opinion, the Commission noted that the package of the judicial code developed by the Ministry is commendable, and additionally, the Government acted responsibly and comprehensively in developing the project by discussing it with both domestic stakeholders and international partners.

During the 120th plenary session, the Venice Commission also approved its opinion on the constitutional impact of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence on the Constitution of Armenia. After the opinions are published by the Commission, the ministry will respond in more detail to their contents.