Panorama.am

12:31 14/04/06

WHO IS TO PAY?

The workers of Public Defender’s office finally received their
salaries for 21 months. Yet this was not their only problem.

The question of photo-copying the files of criminal cases is a serious
problem for the defenders. If in all the other cases the relatives of
the accused are to pay for the photo-copying then, in fact, there is
no one to pay for the insolvent section of population, and the state
budget hasn’t envisaged such expenses. In the end the defenders have
to pay form their own pocket to have the files of the cases
photo-copied. Yet, sometimes those files are voluminous and the
photo-copying becomes quite a serious problem. Defenders are not able
to cover all those expenses with the salary of 150-180 drams a month.

If the question is not solved the public defenders will simply not
have the files photo-copied, will not get acquainted with them and the
defence of the accused in the Court will have a formal character
only. /Panorama.am/