ArmInfo. It is very difficult to overestimate the importance of the prosecutor's office as a state institution in the institutionalization of the state and ensuring legal security. RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this on July 1 at a solemn meeting dedicated to the 104th anniversary of the formation of the Prosecutor's Office and the Day of the Prosecutor's Office, the press service of the government reports.
During the meeting, which was also attended by Acting Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan, newly elected RA Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan and representatives of the Prosecutor's Office, the head of the Armenian government stressed that the Prosecutor General's Office is perceived as the pinnacle, the culmination of the preliminary investigation. <And I should emphasize the importance of this role, because the other bodies involved in the preliminary investigation, in fact, mostly operate behind the scenes, and the prosecutor's office is the body that accepts the formed accusation and defends this accusation in court, most often in open court hearings. And if the prosecutor's office referred the accusation to the court, it means that this accusation should be crowned with a specific punishment, a specific verdict>, Pashinyan emphasized.
He noticed that behind every criminal case there are people, a human, family tragedy. <But I want to emphasize the importance of this fact. It is very important to be able to fundamentally, faithfully and consistently follow the law in the presence of all these emotional factors. Because if we give in to emotions over each of the human tragedies, the result will be a public tragedy>, the Prime Minister emphasized.
At the same time, Pashinyan noted that the principle of the inevitability of punishment is the most important factor in the formation of the state. <A few unpunished cases will indirectly or directly and unfairly affect others. And in this regard, I want to emphasize that yes, the prosecutor's office was established as an institution, but I really like the idea that the law, as well as criminal law, is an evolving process, and we must definitely follow this, comply with this process and be able to comply the requirements of the time. And we are following this path>, the head of government emphasized.
Speaking about the statistics of arrests presented by the Prosecutor General's Office, the prime minister pointed to half-empty prisons as an important achievement. "But at the same time, we recorded that it is difficult to conduct a preliminary investigation in Armenia if the accused is not detained. When talking about the development of law and legal thought, the most important criterion for me is the effectiveness of the investigation, and, as a result, the inevitability of punishment, in conditions where the accused is not in custody. This is, of course, the most important question in my layman's opinion, when it is possible to conduct an investigation while the accused is at large as effectively as in the case of his detention. Of course, it is clear that there are cases when the arrest directly follows from the interests and the need for a preliminary investigation. I give this example in order to emphasize the direction in which we are moving today, including the government, which bears the main responsibility for the policy being developed and implemented," Pashinyan said.
The head of government also stressed the importance of the anti-corruption fight and the effectiveness of the public administration system. "We talk a lot about the fight against corruption, which is of political importance to us, including in terms of increasing the strength and effectiveness of the fight against corruption in the law enforcement system. It is extremely important for us to strengthen the law enforcement system as a whole, as well as social guarantees for prosecutors, because this is a really important factor. The point is not at all in mercantile or material interests, but in the fact that we must give the investigator, prosecutor, policeman and, in general, all employees of state institutions the opportunity to focus on their work. Social security, from my point of view, is to allow, first of all, to focus on work. Of course, this issue is always at the center of our attention, and we must consistently be able to follow this path. Why are our wages so low? Because the state, due to circumstances known to you and to us, is often unable to consolidate the resources of the entire state, which should be concentrated in the state budget. In other words, if we talk about corruption, they are a brake that does not allow funds that should be concentrated in the state budget to be concentrated in the state budget. Therefore, the fight against corruption is the most important way to generate the necessary funds to support our public spending, including the social security system of the state and the law enforcement system>, the Prime Minister stressed.
He also pointed out the need to improve the efficiency of the public administration system. "Of course, the prosecutor's office in this sense is perhaps one of the most compact state institutions, but one must take into account the overall efficiency of work. Although in many cases, including in the work of individual divisions of the prosecutor's office, we see that sometimes there is a need to attract new resources, for example, in the process of preliminary investigation. Because when we talk about an increase in the number of criminal cases, we often forget that the same number of people with the same salary investigate this volume or deal with this volume of cases.
I say all this in order to record that we are clearly aware of the existing agenda, and the solution of this agenda is, of course, a priority for us. I should repeat that all the problems that we have are related to the degree of development of our state institutions. Where we have a shortcoming, we must look for this shortcoming in all state institutions, from the army, armed forces and ending with ministries, departments and local governments. And, of course, the basis of all this must be sought in education and the education system, starting with primary, general, higher and postgraduate education>, Pashinyan stressed.
He added that no matter how difficult the work of the prosecutor, no matter how difficult it was before the war and well-known events, it is even more difficult after it, due to well-known circumstances, because new emotions have been added to emotions, many new tragedies.
It should be noted that on the occasion of the Day of the Prosecutor's Office, by the decree of the President of Armenia, a number of employees of the Prosecutor's Office were awarded state awards for their contribution to strengthening law and order, which were presented to them by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.