Who Will Replace Karen Andreasyan

Following the resignation of Karen Andreasyan, the duties of the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) will temporarily be assumed by SJC member Karen Tumanyan. This has been reported by Fastinfo.

The site states, “Recall that yesterday resignation applications were submitted by the President of the Republican Party Sassoon Khachatryan, the President of the Investigative Committee Arghishti Kyaramyan, the Minister of Internal Affairs Vahe Ghazaryan, the President of the State Revenue Committee Rustam Badazyan, and the President of the Infrastructure and Territorial Administration Committee Gnel Sanosyan. Additionally, it became known this morning that SJC Chairman Karen Andreasyan also submitted his resignation.”

The reason for the resignation of the head of an independent body that guarantees the independence of the judicial system, which is considered the third branch of government under the Constitution, remains ambiguous, especially in parallel with the resignations of other government members, such as Gnel Sanosyan.

After Andreasyan’s resignation, the duties of the SJC Chairman were expected to be performed by the senior-most member, Armen Danielyan. However, it turned out that he submitted his resignation as well, refusing to fulfill the duties based on seniority principles. Therefore, the duties of the SJC Chairman will temporarily be assumed by the next senior member, Karen Tumanyan.

Under his chairmanship, the SJC is expected to hold a meeting to elect a new chairman; if a chairman is not elected, Tumanyan will continue to carry out the responsibilities of the chairman.

It is noteworthy that Karen Andreasyan's term as SJC Chairman was set to expire in the coming months, indicating that the authorities had already identified a candidate for the new SJC Chairman, who, according to law, must be a judge-member. Rumors suggest that Arthur Atabekyan is likely to be elected as the SJC Chairman.

Incidentally, Arthur Atabekyan was elected as an SJC member on April 7, 2023, and months later, he was elected as a judge of the Court of Cassation in February 2024.

Another remarkable aspect is that Atabekyan was elected as an SJC member as a judge of a first-instance court under circumstances where the judicial department sent notifications exclusively to judges of the Bankruptcy Court, although they were obliged to notify other judges who meet the legal criteria for SJC membership.

Atabekyan, according to circulating rumors, also has familial ties with Vahe Ghallumyan, a deputy of the “Civil Contract” faction, who is the godfather to Nikol Pashinyan's family.