The Non-Lawyer Judge: What is the Biography of Arsen Mkrtchyan?

Yesterday, Arsen Mkrtchyan was elected as a judge of the Civil and Administrative Chamber of the Court of Cassation in the parliament. However, he does not possess higher legal education, as confirmed by his official biography.

According to Article 97 of the Judicial Code, candidates who have obtained a bachelors and master's degree in law in the Republic of Armenia or hold an equivalent qualification recognized in accordance with the law from a foreign country may become judges. However, according to Arsen Mkrtchyan’s official biography, he graduated in 1996 from the Faculty of International Law at the Gladzor Management University in Yerevan, meaning he does not have a higher legal education; rather, he is a specialist in international law. Yet legal education is a requirement for being appointed as a judge.

In response to the question from the newspaper