Karen Andreasian to Receive 1 Million 587 Thousand Drams Monthly

The newspaper “Hraparak” reports that the newly elected president of the Supreme Judicial Council, Karen Andreasian, who has not worked a single day as a judge in his life, wishes to receive allowances designated for judges' work experience, despite already receiving a high salary.

The Ministry of Justice has submitted a draft legislative amendment proposing to establish a salary supplement equal to 50% of the salary designated for the president of the Court of Cassation for the president and members of the Supreme Judicial Council. This is despite the fact that Karen Andreasian has never been a judge and thus should not receive the work experience allowances.

The justification for the draft changes is based on Article 83, Section 2 of the Judicial Code, which states that the remuneration for members of the Supreme Judicial Council is defined by law and cannot be less than that of a judge of the Court of Cassation. The law in question is the “Law on the Remuneration of Persons Holding State Positions and State Service Positions,” which, according to Article 13, Section 7, entitles judges of the Court of Cassation to a supplement of 50% of their official salary.

Since the president of the Supreme Judicial Council does not receive this 50% supplement, the Ministry of Justice argues that the remuneration for the president of the Supreme Judicial Council is lower than that of the president of the Court of Cassation, while the law states that the remuneration cannot be lower.

According to the Ministry of Justice's draft, the term “remuneration” includes not only the official rate but also additional allowances and supplements, meaning that Karen Andreasian should also receive a supplement.

However, the “Law on the Remuneration of Persons Holding State Positions and State Service Positions” clearly defines the policy regarding supplements for members and the president of the Supreme Judicial Council. Article 12.1 states that for work experience, the president and members of the Supreme Judicial Council are paid a supplement of 2% for each year in that position. The total amount of the supplement for the president and member of the Supreme Judicial Council cannot exceed the amounts specified in Section 2 of Article 6 of this law.

In the case of judges of the Court of Cassation and their president, the same law provides an exception, specifically stating in Article 13 that judges receive supplements for work experience, and Section 7 states that this can exceed the 30% established by Article 6. In this situation, judges and the president of the Court of Cassation receive a 50% supplement. This means that Karen Andreasian is aiming to appropriate the advantages that are set for judges and the president of the Court of Cassation, considering their work's specific risks and importance.

To understand how much a 50% supplement entails for the salary, a few simple calculations are needed. The established basic salary in Armenia is 66,140 drams, while the coefficient for the position of the president of the Supreme Judicial Council is 16, equating to a salary of 1,058,000 drams, with a 50% supplement of 529,000 drams. Thus, Andreasian’s monthly income will amount to 1,587,000 drams. Over the course of the year, his supplements will total 6,348,000 drams. It is anticipated that in 2023, the basic salary will rise from 66,140 drams to 83,200 drams, making the figures significantly larger.

Consequently, the 50% for the coefficient of the president of the Supreme Judicial Council would equal 665,600 drams monthly, totaling 7,987,200 drams for the year. Over five years, Andreasian will receive 39,936,000 drams in supplementary payments, while his base salary will have increased considerably.

For a single member of the Supreme Judicial Council, the position coefficient is 12, meaning their salary will be 998,400 drams, with a 50% supplement of 499,200 drams monthly, translating to 5,990,000 drams annually. The Supreme Judicial Council has 9 members and 1 president, and if we sum the annual supplements, the total will amount to 61,900,000 drams.

Former editor Nikol Pashinyan, if he were not prime minister, would have responded to such a project by asking, “Are you serious about wanting to take that much money from the budget?” It is worth noting that this draft law has been presented by the Ministry of Justice, now headed by Karen Andreasian's former deputy and close friend Grigor Minasyan. One could speculate that Minasyan is doing a favor for his friend at the state’s expense, surely with the prime minister's approval.

It should be noted that the draft has been available on the unified website for the publication of legal acts for four days, where 14 citizens have voted against it, indicating that, at this moment, the draft has no public support. However, this does not preclude its future acceptance.