Prosecutors Seek to Work as Judges Recently: 'Hraparak'

'Hraparak' newspaper reports that there has been a noticeable trend of prosecutors moving to the judiciary lately. This is especially true given the numerous vacant judge positions that are difficult to fill. According to our information, many prosecutors have applied for judicial appointments in the past year.

At the end of April, President Vahagn Khachatryan signed a decree appointing 8 judges specializing in criminal cases to the first instance courts in the provinces. Four of them previously worked in the prosecutor's office.

Hayk Petrosyan has been appointed as a judge for the Ararat and Vayots Dzor provinces; prior to this, he worked as a senior prosecutor in the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Prosecutor General's Office, overseeing the lawfulness of pre-trial proceedings. In the Lori province, Martin Arzumanyan has been appointed as a judge, having served as a senior prosecutor at the Yerevan City Prosecutor's Office. Mousheg Aramyan is appointed as a judge in the Syunik province, formerly serving as the deputy prosecutor of Yerevan's Avan and Nor Nork administrative districts. Aram Martirosyan has been appointed as a judge in the Tavush province; he was a senior prosecutor in the Kotayk province's prosecutor's office.

Moreover, Vahe Dolmazyan, who has prosecuted several criminal cases, has also transitioned from the prosecutor's office to the judiciary. He and Hayk Petrosyan previously served as prosecutors in the case against former MP Manvel Grigoryan and his wife. In essence, after their judicial appointments, this case no longer has a prosecutor. Lawyer Levon Baghdasaryan informed us that there has been a change in prosecutors, and a new prosecutor has been involved in the case, representing the interests of the Grigoryans.

Details can be found in the newspaper's current issue.