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ARMENIA: PRESIDENTIAL DISMISSAL OF JUDGE SPARKS OUTCRY OVER JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE ISSUE
Emil Danielyan
EurasiaNet, NY
Oct 18 2007
Armenian President Robert Kocharian has ignited controversy by
dismissing a judge who defied state prosecutors by setting free
two businessmen embroiled in a corruption-related dispute with the
government.
Local lawyers and civil society advocates say the move makes a mockery
of the Kocharian administration's commitment to promote an independent
judiciary in Armenia. They also regard it as an indicator of government
tolerance of corruption.
Kocharian formally relieved Pargev Ohanian, a district court judge in
Yerevan, of his duties on October 16, citing a recommendation made by
the Council of Justice, a presidentially appointed body overseeing the
judicial system. The council made the recommendation on October 12,
following a two-day hearing. The council convened the hearing after
another government body, the Judicial Department, claimed to have
uncovered serious violations of law in Ohanian's handling of two
dozen criminal and civil cases.
The disciplinary proceedings against Ohanian were formally launched
on September 4, less than two months after he sensationally acquitted
the owner and a senior executive of the coffee packaging company Royal
Armenia. They had been held for two years on charges of tax evasion
and fraud. The arrests came after they publicly accused senior customs
officials of corruption.
"This is a pure coincidence," Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian
insisted on September 24, denying any connection between the Royal
Armenia verdict and Ohanian's dismissal. Danielian and other officials
contended that none of the violations alleged by the Judicial
Department related to the Royal Armenia case.
Nonetheless, the judge's sacking is being widely linked with what
was apparently the first-ever court defeat suffered by the National
Security Service (NSS), the Armenian successor to the Soviet KGB and
the agency that handled the Royal Armenia probe. Ohanian himself has
made clear his belief that the acquittal cost him his job. "I think
we can say that," he told reporters.
"It was definitely retribution," Tigran Ter-Yesayan, a prominent
lawyer, told EurasiaNet. "I directly link it with Ohanian's ruling
on the Royal Armenia case."
Armenian courts are notorious for their lack of independence, rarely
making decisions going against the government's and prosecutors'
wishes. That is seen as a key reason for the weakness of the rule of
law in the country. The Armenian authorities admit the problem but say
they are doing their best to increase judicial independence. They point
to an ongoing structural reform of the judiciary and, more importantly,
the passage in late 2005 of Western-backed amendments to Armenia's
constitution. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
One of those amendments relates to the formation of the Council of
Justice, which has the exclusive authority to nominate judges and
initiate their removal by the president of the republic. To date,
Kocharian has headed the council and has appointed all of its members,
effectively giving him unrestricted control over the courts.
Under the amended constitution, Armenian judges themselves will
elect nine of the 13 council members by secret ballot. But that will
happen only after the current council members, who were handpicked
by Kocharian, complete their terms in office. That process will
take years.
For legal experts and other government critics, Ohanian's sacking
is proof that incumbent authority has no intention of relaxing its
grip over the judiciary. The pro-opposition daily Haykakan Zhamanak
called the development a "deadly blow" to judicial independence.
Ter-Yesayan, whose non-governmental organization, Forum, helps
Armenians file lawsuits at the European Court of Human Rights,
agreed. "They want to make sure that the judicial system is
not independent," he said. "Any positive precedent [of judicial
independence] is dangerous for them."
Ohanian, for his part, predicted that his colleagues will now be even
more careful not to challenge the government. "My dismissal will have
very negative consequences for the judicial system, which is already
in a bad shape, both in terms of the audacity of judges and their
enforcement of law," he said.
But Hovannes Manukian, chairman of Armenia's highest Court of
Cassation who also presides over Council of Justice meetings, claimed
the opposite. "I don't think this is the kind of decision that will
affect the judicial system," he told journalists.
Ohanian's fate and the Royal Armenia case raise fresh questions about
the sincerity of government pledges to combat corruption. In the
months leading up to their October 2005 arrest, Gagik Hakobian, the
embattled coffee company's main shareholder, and its deputy director,
Aram Ghazarian, repeatedly and publicly alleged that Royal Armenia was
being illegally penalized by the State Customs Committee (SCC) for its
refusal to engage in a fraud scam with senior customs officials. The
SCC is reputed to be one of the country's most corrupt agencies and is
a major source of complaints from local entrepreneurs. Royal Armenia
was the first company to go public with such complaints.
The SCC, which is headed by a close confidante of Prime Minister
Serzh Sarkisian, flatly denied the corruption allegations before
having the NSS open a criminal case against Hakobian and Ghazarian.
The two men went on trial in late 2006 on what they characterized as
trumped-up charges of evading $3 million in taxes and defrauding a US
businessman of Armenian descent. They were cleared of the accusations
and walked free in the courtroom on July 16. Kocharian reportedly
expressed outrage at their unexpected acquittal during a meeting with
senior judges held several days later.
Not surprisingly, trial prosecutors were quick to challenge Ohanian's
verdict at the Court of Appeals. In mid-September, the court issued
an arrest warrant for Hakobian, citing his failure to attend its first
hearings on the case and ignoring his assurances that he is undergoing
medical treatment in Spain and will soon return to Armenia. In what
his supporters view as an act of civic courage, the businessman flew
back to Yerevan on October 3 to be again arrested by police and face
the possibility of a 12-year imprisonment sought by prosecutors.
"The whole thing shows that corruption has an institutionalized
character in Armenia," Varuzhan Hoktanian, deputy chairman of the
Armenian affiliate of the international anti-graft group Transparency
International, told EurasiaNet. "The authorities are not only doing
little to tackle corruption, but are punishing people who really
fight against it."
Editor's Note: Emil Danielyan is a Yerevan-based journalist and
political analyst.
Emil Danielyan
EurasiaNet, NY
Oct 18 2007
Armenian President Robert Kocharian has ignited controversy by
dismissing a judge who defied state prosecutors by setting free
two businessmen embroiled in a corruption-related dispute with the
government.
Local lawyers and civil society advocates say the move makes a mockery
of the Kocharian administration's commitment to promote an independent
judiciary in Armenia. They also regard it as an indicator of government
tolerance of corruption.
Kocharian formally relieved Pargev Ohanian, a district court judge in
Yerevan, of his duties on October 16, citing a recommendation made by
the Council of Justice, a presidentially appointed body overseeing the
judicial system. The council made the recommendation on October 12,
following a two-day hearing. The council convened the hearing after
another government body, the Judicial Department, claimed to have
uncovered serious violations of law in Ohanian's handling of two
dozen criminal and civil cases.
The disciplinary proceedings against Ohanian were formally launched
on September 4, less than two months after he sensationally acquitted
the owner and a senior executive of the coffee packaging company Royal
Armenia. They had been held for two years on charges of tax evasion
and fraud. The arrests came after they publicly accused senior customs
officials of corruption.
"This is a pure coincidence," Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian
insisted on September 24, denying any connection between the Royal
Armenia verdict and Ohanian's dismissal. Danielian and other officials
contended that none of the violations alleged by the Judicial
Department related to the Royal Armenia case.
Nonetheless, the judge's sacking is being widely linked with what
was apparently the first-ever court defeat suffered by the National
Security Service (NSS), the Armenian successor to the Soviet KGB and
the agency that handled the Royal Armenia probe. Ohanian himself has
made clear his belief that the acquittal cost him his job. "I think
we can say that," he told reporters.
"It was definitely retribution," Tigran Ter-Yesayan, a prominent
lawyer, told EurasiaNet. "I directly link it with Ohanian's ruling
on the Royal Armenia case."
Armenian courts are notorious for their lack of independence, rarely
making decisions going against the government's and prosecutors'
wishes. That is seen as a key reason for the weakness of the rule of
law in the country. The Armenian authorities admit the problem but say
they are doing their best to increase judicial independence. They point
to an ongoing structural reform of the judiciary and, more importantly,
the passage in late 2005 of Western-backed amendments to Armenia's
constitution. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
One of those amendments relates to the formation of the Council of
Justice, which has the exclusive authority to nominate judges and
initiate their removal by the president of the republic. To date,
Kocharian has headed the council and has appointed all of its members,
effectively giving him unrestricted control over the courts.
Under the amended constitution, Armenian judges themselves will
elect nine of the 13 council members by secret ballot. But that will
happen only after the current council members, who were handpicked
by Kocharian, complete their terms in office. That process will
take years.
For legal experts and other government critics, Ohanian's sacking
is proof that incumbent authority has no intention of relaxing its
grip over the judiciary. The pro-opposition daily Haykakan Zhamanak
called the development a "deadly blow" to judicial independence.
Ter-Yesayan, whose non-governmental organization, Forum, helps
Armenians file lawsuits at the European Court of Human Rights,
agreed. "They want to make sure that the judicial system is
not independent," he said. "Any positive precedent [of judicial
independence] is dangerous for them."
Ohanian, for his part, predicted that his colleagues will now be even
more careful not to challenge the government. "My dismissal will have
very negative consequences for the judicial system, which is already
in a bad shape, both in terms of the audacity of judges and their
enforcement of law," he said.
But Hovannes Manukian, chairman of Armenia's highest Court of
Cassation who also presides over Council of Justice meetings, claimed
the opposite. "I don't think this is the kind of decision that will
affect the judicial system," he told journalists.
Ohanian's fate and the Royal Armenia case raise fresh questions about
the sincerity of government pledges to combat corruption. In the
months leading up to their October 2005 arrest, Gagik Hakobian, the
embattled coffee company's main shareholder, and its deputy director,
Aram Ghazarian, repeatedly and publicly alleged that Royal Armenia was
being illegally penalized by the State Customs Committee (SCC) for its
refusal to engage in a fraud scam with senior customs officials. The
SCC is reputed to be one of the country's most corrupt agencies and is
a major source of complaints from local entrepreneurs. Royal Armenia
was the first company to go public with such complaints.
The SCC, which is headed by a close confidante of Prime Minister
Serzh Sarkisian, flatly denied the corruption allegations before
having the NSS open a criminal case against Hakobian and Ghazarian.
The two men went on trial in late 2006 on what they characterized as
trumped-up charges of evading $3 million in taxes and defrauding a US
businessman of Armenian descent. They were cleared of the accusations
and walked free in the courtroom on July 16. Kocharian reportedly
expressed outrage at their unexpected acquittal during a meeting with
senior judges held several days later.
Not surprisingly, trial prosecutors were quick to challenge Ohanian's
verdict at the Court of Appeals. In mid-September, the court issued
an arrest warrant for Hakobian, citing his failure to attend its first
hearings on the case and ignoring his assurances that he is undergoing
medical treatment in Spain and will soon return to Armenia. In what
his supporters view as an act of civic courage, the businessman flew
back to Yerevan on October 3 to be again arrested by police and face
the possibility of a 12-year imprisonment sought by prosecutors.
"The whole thing shows that corruption has an institutionalized
character in Armenia," Varuzhan Hoktanian, deputy chairman of the
Armenian affiliate of the international anti-graft group Transparency
International, told EurasiaNet. "The authorities are not only doing
little to tackle corruption, but are punishing people who really
fight against it."
Editor's Note: Emil Danielyan is a Yerevan-based journalist and
political analyst.