PARGEV OHANYAN: "DO NOT MAKE ME A HERO"

A1+
[06:16 pm] 27 September, 2007

"Do not make me a hero. I have just done my job", said Pargev
Ohanyan, the judge of the First Instance Court of Kentron-Nork
Marash Communities to his colleagues of the RA Justice Board. "I
have never liked politics and have never been engaged in politics. I
am not an opposition. I am the representative of the authorities",
said Pargev Ohanyan, quoting Socrates: "Judge is the speaking law,
law is the speaking judge. Law has a spirit, and one should not clutch
at the letter of a law, if it contradicts the law’s spirit". Ohanyan
confessed that he had always followed the law. "Never do what you do
not want to do". He had always followed this principle and called on
his colleagues of the RA Justice Board to do so.

These were the last words of the judge, before the Board made its
decision. But before the decision Hayk Alumyan, Pargev Ohanyan’s
advocate presented two decisions to the Court that contradicted the
observation of the Disciplinary Commission referring to the comments
of the Article 22 of the Criminal Code. In the mentioned two decisions
the Appeal and Cassation Courts commented on the law just as Pargev
Ohanyan had done, whose comments the Disciplinary Commission considered
obvious harsh violations.

Alumanyan pointed out that they did not think that Article 22 was
commented incorrectly, otherwise, they would have been appealed against
it and the same article would not have been commented in the same by
the two instances.

The Justice Board rejected both mediations of the advocate. The
first one referred to bringing all cases to the Court, which the
Disciplinary Commission examined "since the observation of the
Disciplinary Commission did not proceed from the case". The second
one was to invite the members of Judicial Department to the Court,
who demanded and started the action.

Hovhannes Manukyan, member of Judicial Board confirmed that there were
no signatures under the observation and no date was mentioned on it.

The decision of the Board is due on 12 October.