Court Proceedings Can Be Prolonged for Years Without Consequences: Human Rights Defender Appeals to Constitutional Court

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia has appealed to the Constitutional Court, contesting the lack of a flexible mechanism for ensuring the constitutional requirement for court cases to be examined within a reasonable timeframe, as stipulated by the Judicial Code of the Republic of Armenia.

This pertains to Article 9 of the Code, which outlines only the circumstances to be considered when determining the reasonableness of the duration of a court case. The said article does not establish the legislative possibility for restoring the right to a judicial examination within a reasonable timeframe when it has been violated. Thus, under the current legislative regulations, the examination of cases in court can be prolonged for years and remain without consequence for the court.

Specifically, according to the Supreme Judicial Council's 2019 annual report, there are currently 155 criminal and 1,628 civil cases in Yerevan alone that have been pending for two years or more (some cases have been ongoing for 10 years or more). The total number of such cases in the hands of just 7 judges reaches 1,123.

Research into international practices shows that appealing court decisions or discussing the issue of reasonable timeframes with another court in ongoing cases, as well as demanding compensation for non-material damages, or initiating disciplinary proceedings against a judge, are not effective procedures for addressing the legislative gap.

Preventive measures against violations of the right to a reasonable examination timeframe are widely present in international legal systems, yet are absent in our domestic regulations.

The Human Rights Defender's position asserts that the current legislative gap does not ensure the comprehensive realization of the constitutional right to a reasonable timeframe for court examinations. Consequently, this leads to an undue limitation on the effective remedies provided in Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.