Judges' Appointments Cannot Serve Political Purposes: Ministry of Justice

The VT Foreign Policy platform has published information suggesting that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has appointed judges from his close circle in an effort to 'cleanse' the political landscape of the country, linking this process to the upcoming elections. In response, the Ministry of Justice of Armenia has issued a clarification.

The mentioned allegations are disinformation and do not conform to the constitutional and legislative regulations operating in the Republic of Armenia. It is emphasized that the Prime Minister has no authority, influence, or involvement at any stage of the selection or appointment of judges, and the appointment process for judges is carried out exclusively according to constitutional and legislative regulations.

The procedure for the selection and appointment of judges in the Republic of Armenia is clearly defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and the constitutional law 'Judicial Code of the Republic of Armenia'. For instance, the selection of first-instance judges is conducted through a multi-stage, competitive, and transparent process which includes: accepting and scrutinizing candidates' applications; a written qualification exam in the relevant field of specialization; a consultative conclusion on integrity provided by the Anti-Corruption Commission; and an interview for assessing professional and personal qualities.

Based on the results of these stages, the Supreme Judicial Council forms a list of candidates submitted to the Justice Academy for mandatory training. After completing the education at the academy, candidates are included in the relevant lists of judicial candidates, and only individuals on these lists can be presented to the President of the Republic for appointment.

First-instance and appellate court judges are appointed by the President of the Republic upon the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council. In the case of judges of the Court of Cassation, candidates are presented by the National Assembly based on the selection of one of three candidates proposed by the Supreme Judicial Council.

It should be noted that the process of selection and appointment of judges cannot serve political purposes or be linked to electoral processes, and the claims made by VT Foreign Policy regarding this issue are not based on facts or legal grounds and constitute disinformation.