ARMENIA’S JUDICIAL SYSTEM ENTERS NEW STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 30 2007

YEREVAN, October 30. /ARKA/. Armenia’s judicial system enters a new
stage of development, said Minister of Justice Gevorg Danielyan.

"Armenia’s judicial system enters a new stage of development, which
envisages liquidation of such institute as the Economic Court. It was
necessary in the transition stage, after transition to the second stage
of the judicial and legal reforms, the necessity fell way," he said.

At the same time Danielyan said that Armenia’s Economic Court
duplicates the competence of civil courts, and as these courts it
operates on the basis of civil procedural rules.

Alongside with the abolition of the Economic court, the Minister
welcomes the formation of the Administrative court in Armenia. He
said that the latter is necessary for increasing the responsibility
of state structures before the citizens.

"The state authorities will be responsible for proofing in the
Administrative court. A court will become an important link in
country-citizen relations and will be available for all the citizens
of the country," he said.

The abolition of the Economic court and the formation of the
Administrative court are envisaged by the Judicial Code of Armenia,
adopted by the Parliament on February 21, 2007 and it will come
into force on January 1, 2008. Since January 1, 2008, common justice
courts, Administrative court, Appeal and Cassation courts will operate
in Armenia.

At present Armenia has three-stage judicial system: first instance
court (17 courts, 7 of them in Yerevan), Courts of Appeal on criminal
and civil cases (residence in Yerevan) and Cassation court (residence
in Yerevan).

The second stage of the judicial and legal reforms is conducted in
Armenia. The first credit program of these reforms started in 2000
and finished in June 2006. It cost $11.2mln, $10.4mln of which was
allocated by the WB, and the rest – as a social financing of the
government.