Galayan Explains Why Trials Are Prolonged in Our Country

According to Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galayan, out of over 1700 detainees, only 10 to 15 are in custody for more than five years. This situation is concerning, and while I mention the numbers, it is not to justify the prolonged detention of individuals.

During a joint session of the permanent committees of the National Assembly, Galayan responded to questions about the lengthy duration of trials in the country. She stated, “We are moving towards establishing specific procedural deadlines for each trial. In criminal cases, this will be one year, which can be extended no more than three times by another year, but only with a justified decision. This means that the rule will be one year, and deviations from this will be possible; we have in mind that we will allow deviations in the coming years due to the objective overload.”

Another reason for the delays in criminal proceedings is that judges assigned in the regions sometimes move to Yerevan or are promoted, and new judges replace them. When a new judge arrives, the examination of the case starts from scratch. We have an initiative that when a judge changes, if the parties do not object, the examination of the case should not start from zero but should continue from the point at which the previous judge left off,” she explained.