YURI HAIRAPETYAN WAS ELECTED OMBUDSMAN
KarabakhOpen
16-04-2008 15:00:23
Today’s meeting of the parliament of Karabakh will probably be
remembered as the parliament which elected the human rights defender.
Through secret ballot the only candidate was elected – the chair of
the NKR National Assembly Committee for State and Legal Affairs Yuri
Hairapetyan. Speaker Ashot Ghulyan said this candidature was agreed
to by all the factions.
In his speech Yuri Hairapetyan thanked his colleagues for confidence
and informed that he has over 30 years of experience as a lawyer.
The law on the human rights defender was passed several years ago,
and in May 2005 the office of the human rights defender should have
been set up.
However, the issue was put off, either for the lack of a suitable
candidate or for other reasons, until the provision on the human rights
defender was set down in the Constitution in December 2006. Afterwards
a presidential election was held, and only now the parliament decided
to elect an ombudsman.
It is gratifying that it is an experienced lawyer who has been the
chair of the Committee of State and Legal Affairs for two terms.