No Thought Excluded Possibility of Widespread Vetting Scenario, Minister

Widespread vetting can be addressed after amendments to the Constitution, and during our live broadcast, no thoughts have been expressed that would exclude such a scenario. This was stated by Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan on his Facebook page.

He specifically noted: "MP Arman Babajanyan has once again addressed the issue of vetting, making irresponsible conclusions, which I clarify once more. Both with the amendments to the Judicial Code and constitutional changes, the agenda that implies radical changes in the judicial system has been officially put forward by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, particularly, it was circulated during the summer months and the government decision on the approval of the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan for Judicial and Legal Reforms and the Programs Derived from It was adopted in October of last year.

During a conversation with the Prime Minister, it was stated that the issue of vetting has been regulated by the Judicial Code within the framework permitted by the current Constitution, and we have introduced the most serious tools, the effective application of which can bring real changes to the judicial system in practice.

Secondly, I have mentioned that in the case of widespread vetting, which involves the formation of special bodies, granting them appropriate mandates, and the complete verification of all judges over a period of time, it implies constitutional amendments. Furthermore, in two interviews, I have publicly stated that all those who believe this can be done without constitutional amendments should present their version with justifications, which has not yet been submitted.

It turns out we are dealing with irresponsible statements. Imagine that nothing and no one was able to hinder the Government from presenting the law on the confiscation of property of unlawful origin to the National Assembly, which, by the way, is also relevant to judges' property of unlawful origin under certain grounds. Nothing and no one could prevent the Government from establishing articles that criminalize criminal subculture. However, according to Mr. Babajanyan, for some reason, I am convincing to refrain from widespread vetting.

Furthermore, I want to emphasize once again that widespread vetting can be addressed after constitutional amendments, and during our live broadcast, no thoughts have been expressed that would exclude such a scenario. Moreover, I noted that nothing hinders us from implementing an effective system through constitutional amendments, taking into account international experience, while we have merely discussed possible risks.