Wednesday, February 7, 2017 Armenian Lawyers Strike Again . Nane Sahakian Armenia - Lawyers meet in Yerevan to protest against government plans to allow judges to fine them for contempt of court, 7 February 2018. Hundreds of Armenian lawyers staged a fresh strike on Wednesday in protest against government plans to allow judges to fine them for contempt of court. The one-day strike organized by the Chamber of Advocates led to the cancellation of court hearings across Armenia. "Our actions are approved by many of our international partners," said Ara Zohrabian, the chairman of the national bar association. "We will publicize their positions soon." Government-drafted amendments to Armenia's Judicial Code passed by the parliament in the first reading in November set the maximum amount of such fines at 100,000 drams ($210). They triggered vehement objections from lawyers fearing that judges would use the new power to limit their rights during court hearings. A large group of them already went on a one-day strike in December. Justice Minister Davit Harutiunian, the key author of the controversial amendments, said last week that they have been removed from the Judicial Code before being passed in the final reading. But he made clear that the amendments will be incorporated into another code which the Armenian authorities plan to amend later this year. The postponement failed to satisfy the lawyers. They insist that the authorities have failed to substantiate the need for financial penalties against purportedly unruly attorneys. Lawyers representing radical opposition activists currently standing trial feel that they are the main target of the proposed penalties. They frequently argue with judges and are sanctioned by the latter during those trials Harutiunian has defended the fines sought by the authorities, saying that they are needed to increase public respect for the Armenian judiciary. Baku Slams Swiss Speaker For `Pro-Armenian' Statement Armenia - Dominique de Buman, the speaker of the Swiss National Council, gives a speech in the Armenian parliament in Yerevan, 6 February 2018. (Photo by Parliament.am) Azerbaijan on Wednesday condemned the speaker of Switzerland's lower house of parliament for voicing support for the right to self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh's predominantly Armenian population. "The people of Nagorno-Karabakh have the right to choose their destiny just like other peoples," Dominique de Buman said during an official visit to Armenia on Tuesday. Addressing the Armenian parliament, he also called for a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict. Reacting to that statement, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry accused Buman of trying to "justify Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan." A ministry spokesman, Hikmet Hajiyev, said he thus "inflicted damage" on efforts to end the Karabakh dispute. According to Azerbaijani news agencies, Hajiyev also pointed to Buman's "illegal" visit to Karabakh in 2012. Buman, who was elected speaker of Switzerland's National Council last November, travelled to the Armenian-populated territory together with another Swiss lawmaker. Baku sent a note of protest to the Swiss Foreign Ministry at the time. Karabakh peace proposals made by the United States, Russia and France over the past decade have been based on a combination of the internationally recognized principles of self-determination and territorial integrity of states. The three mediating powers have repeatedly cited both principles in their joint statements on the Armenian-Azerbaijani disputes. Press Review "Everyone is convinced that Serzh Sarkisian's becoming prime-minister is a forgone conclusion but they won't announce it now so that the public mood does not deteriorate," writes "Zhamanak." "But seriously speaking, the situation is simply weird because we have a party that won the [2017] parliamentary elections but that party still has no answer to the question of prime minister. But this weird, in the classical sense, situation is totally normal from the standpoint of Armenia's realities. The circle of decision-makers is very narrow while that of factors behind decisions very broad here." "Haykakan Zhamanak" recalls in this regard Sarkisian's April 2014 declaration that he will not seek to become prime minister if Armenia is transformed into a parliamentary republic. The paper accuses him of breaking that pledge. "It's a fact," it says, adding that as prime minister Sarkisian will be "the country's full-fledged monarch." "Zhoghovurd" writes about controversy sparked by Prime Minister Karen Karapetian's use of a private jet during his recent trip to Davos, Switzerland. The paper publishes a government document which it says disproves a government claim that Karapetian's travel expenses were not covered from the state budget. "Aravot" reacts to Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili's pledge to crack down on reputed crime figures commonly known as "thieves-in-law" in the former Soviet Union. "Many of our compatriots have seized upon that, saying that `this is the way to go' and `we had better do the same,'" writes the paper's editor, Aram Abrahamian. "I like many things happening in Georgia. But this particular statement is populism and empty talk and/or a promise of illegal measures. No criminal code in the world legally defines a thief-in-law. There are individuals who are suspected, accused, wanted or sentenced for concrete crimes. If a reputed thief-in-law has committed a crime then they must be prosecuted on charges defined by the law. If they have not or if they have been convicted [of a crime] and have already served a prison sentence then they have the same rights as all other citizens." (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org