Corruption Is Not Distinguishable Between 'Former' or 'Present' Logic – Pashinyan

The largest expectation of the public in Armenia has been, and continues to be, justice in all fields, starting from social issues and ending with political ones. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this during a conference dedicated to the 105th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Prosecutor's Office.

He expressed confidence that a new standard of justice is on the way to being established in Armenia. “Today, the media often reports that, for example, citizens, including representatives of the opposition, are either acquitted or convicted in criminal cases initiated for various reasons. This is also a confirmation of the new standard of justice. There was a time when any accusation brought to the court had a 99.9% probability of being confirmed in court. Now it's not always like that. On the other hand, we expect, and I know that the Prosecutor’s Office’s approach is this: we must treat each case with the logic that charges are effectively defended in court,” Pashinyan said.

He emphasized that the government and the political majority's attention towards the prosecutor and the prosecutorial system also has very important economic motives. “A very good economic dynamic has been established in the country. The government believes that additional expenses and investments in the field of justice and law ensure further economic growth because one of the most important conditions for the economy and investments is the rule of law and the presence of an equal legal field,” the Prime Minister noted.

Pashinyan also highlighted the importance of fighting against corruption and emphasized that it is a destructive evil for any state, especially for a country like Armenia, which faces known challenges and, for objective reasons, sometimes experiences these challenges doubling or even tripling. “The fight against corruption must continue to remain a priority for Armenia’s political, legal, legislative, and media spheres. Moreover, we have never had and will not have a tendency to differentiate corruption based on 'former' or 'present' logic. Corruption is corruption, regardless of the year it occurred. Any corruption that happened in any year does the same damage to the future,” the Prime Minister stated.

He assured that it is impossible to tolerate the presence of this phenomenon, and the daily fight against it will become more and more consistent. Pashinyan emphasized that for the first time in the 105-year history of the Prosecutor's Office, a woman lawyer serves as the Chief Prosecutor, which is a very important event.