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
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