The Judge Indulging in Luxury: Jahangiryan’s Candidate

The newspaper "Zhoghovurd" reports that on July 4, 2021, the three-year term of Artak Darbinyan, the President of the Administrative Court, is set to expire. Without waiting for this date, he has gone on vacation, and his replacement has been appointed, Judge Argishti Andranik Ghazaryan from the same court.

According to our sources close to the Administrative Court, this appointment is not coincidental, as reliable information indicates that the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, Gagik Jahangiryan, has promised him the position of President of the Administrative Court in exchange for selfless service and readiness to pressure judges with independent opinions. Additionally, Jahangiryan has promised that if Ghazaryan performs well, he will be appointed as the President of the Administrative Appeal Court after three years.

Sources from the newspaper reveal that Argishti Ghazaryan stands out among the judges of the Administrative Court and the judicial system in general due to his part-time work schedule, operating from 9 AM to 4 PM, and not attending work on Fridays for many years, considering it a day of luxury. This information can easily be verified by the relevant authorities through data from his phone’s antenna locations over the years.

An examination of Argishti Ghazaryan's declarations revealed that, while serving as a judge, he violated laws by illegally constructing a luxurious house on a plot of land acquired in the Malatia-Sebastia administrative district. He lived there, later declaring it an illegal structure in his 2019 declaration, while in 2020, he reported it as joint property with his wife, Astghik Mazmanyan. It remains unclear on what grounds the illegal construction was legalized, considering that the Mayor of Yerevan has always stated that illegal constructions will never be legalized. We will conduct relevant investigations in this regard.

Data accessible from the "Datalex" system indicates that Argishti Andranik Ghazaryan, residing at 32 Sebasti Street in the Malatia-Sebastia administrative district, filed a lawsuit against the Malatia-Sebastia administrative district on March 21, 2021, demanding the annulment of decision No. 1113-A dated November 23, 2020, with a court hearing set for July 1, 2021. We will also revisit this case soon.

The newspaper learned that in the near future, most likely on July 2, 2021, members of the Supreme Judicial Council are scheduled to visit the Administrative Court supposedly to gather judges’ opinions regarding the candidate for the position of court president. Given Argishti Ghazaryan’s low professional knowledge and reputation in the court, Gagik Jahangiryan and the scholarly members of the Supreme Judicial Council have decided to implement the following scenario for the meeting: one or two of Ghazaryan’s close judicial colleagues will propose his candidacy for the position of court president, leveraging this situation to appoint Ghazaryan as president, presented as the most deserving judge.

Moreover, a similar scenario was employed during the visit of the Supreme Judicial Council members to the Administrative Appeal Court on June 30, 2021. Responding to a question from Gagik Jahangiryan about whom the judges see as the candidate for the position of President of the Appeal Court, according to the organized scenario, two judges proposed the candidacy of Arman Tovmasyan, who is the son-in-law of Supreme Court Judge Arsen Mkrtchyan.

Previously, we noted that Arsen Mkrtchyan was appointed as a Supreme Court judge under government orders, under the condition of later being appointed as President of the Civil Chamber. However, we have repeatedly drawn the attention of the relevant authorities to the fact that he does not possess the higher legal education required by law, having only graduated from a private university’s international faculty.

The crux of the matter is that, according to well-informed sources, Gagik Jahangiryan is tasked with capturing the courts by appointing loyal individuals as presidents. It is noteworthy that Jahangiryan’s approach significantly differs from that of the previous two presidents of the Supreme Judicial Council, as he is essentially opposing the independence of the judiciary and has moved towards the formation of a compliant judicial system. He appears more as the head of a law enforcement agency in relation to his subordinates than as the acting President of the Supreme Judicial Council.

Furthermore, it is particularly interesting that during his campaigns in the courts, Gagik Jahangiryan has repeatedly stated that they have regained a majority, received a steel mandate, and have no issues in any matter, including advancing any legislative proposal in the National Assembly.