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Justice as a way of thinking. Armenia's Minister of Justice tackling
contradictions in the law
http://www.civilitasfoundation.org/cf/events/632-justice-as-a-way-of-thinking-armenias-minister-of-justice-tackling-contradictions-in-the-law.html
Monday, 13 June 2011 08:21 |
Spotlight / Events
Hrayr Tovmasyan outlined two current priorities of his work as Mnister
of Justice, as a guest of the Civilitas `One Hundred Questions and
Answers' series: tackling contradictions and inconsistencies in the
law and instilling a new way of thinking that upholds justice as a top
demand and need for the society at large. `We need to clear the law of
all corruption-related risks, and we need to allow access to new
people and to a new value system that will espouse justice as a way of
thinking,' explained Tovmasyan. `Justice should be a public demand and
we need to clearly formulate that demand.'
The purpose of the series is to offer citizens an opportunity to speak
directly to decision-makers, opinion-makers and policy-makers. With no
pre-determined topic and no speeches, the guest immediately responds
to questions from the audience and from those who have submitted
questions online. The audience also enters into dialogue with the
guest. In this case, environmental activist Karine Danielyan argued,
`The demand often runs into a wall,' citing cases where a new business
was clearly preferred while community needs were ignored when
environmental safety was at stake. Tovmasyan agreed but reminded the
audience not to forget the successful cases when construction was
stopped due to public demand for the sake of environmental safety and
architectural integrity. `Five years ago, you would see trees cut down
every step of the way, whereas now public figures think not just
twice, but three times before ordering a cut-down, and this is solely
due to public opinion. Public demand always precedes and exceeds what
the state can do to satisfy it,' said Tovmasyan encouraging discussion
participants to stay true to their cause and continue the good work.
The discussion touched upon judicial independence and impartiality of
Armenian courts. `The constitution provides for the separation of the
judicial branch from legislative and executive branches,' said
Tovmasyan, an expert in constitutional law. `However, it is not solely
the task of the constitution to guarantee an independent judicial
power and to instill the correct perception of justice in judges. It
is impossible to tackle this with just constitutional reforms. The
society needs to step in.'
The Minister explained that the Justice Ministry's responsibilities
revolve around the development of the Criminal Code, and
administrative or disciplinary actions related to judicial officers.
He talked about a recent survey conducted by his students which showed
that 84 percent of respondents were ready to resort to bribery to
arrive at some illegal solution to a problem, while 63 percent of
respondents would resort to illegal methods to provide a solution to a
legal matter as well. `We have a clear need for change in society's
thinking. There are no other alternatives to an impartial judicial
system,' concluded Tovmasyan.
The Minister was also asked questions of a political nature. He
responded to a question about early parliamentary elections by
explaining that `If prior to the 2005 constitutional reforms, the
president could, at any time, for political reasons alone, dissolve
the National Assembly, then following the 2005 reforms, only under
specific circumstances is the President able to dissolve the National
Assembly and hold special elections,' said Tovmasyan. `There is no
such legal basis for special elections at this moment, nor do I
believe that there are political, social or economic bases either.'
Towards the end of the discussion Tovmasyan revealed his teaching
philosophy as a professor and what he tries to pass on through his
lectures to the next generation of Armenian lawyers. `Many think that
a good lawyer is one who knows a lot of laws. Jurisprudence is, again,
a way of thinking - either you have it or you don't. I try to convey
this to my students, which always reminds me of what my own professor
used to say years ago that jurisprudence is the ability to read in
between the lines of the law.'
From: Baghdasarian
contradictions in the law
http://www.civilitasfoundation.org/cf/events/632-justice-as-a-way-of-thinking-armenias-minister-of-justice-tackling-contradictions-in-the-law.html
Monday, 13 June 2011 08:21 |
Spotlight / Events
Hrayr Tovmasyan outlined two current priorities of his work as Mnister
of Justice, as a guest of the Civilitas `One Hundred Questions and
Answers' series: tackling contradictions and inconsistencies in the
law and instilling a new way of thinking that upholds justice as a top
demand and need for the society at large. `We need to clear the law of
all corruption-related risks, and we need to allow access to new
people and to a new value system that will espouse justice as a way of
thinking,' explained Tovmasyan. `Justice should be a public demand and
we need to clearly formulate that demand.'
The purpose of the series is to offer citizens an opportunity to speak
directly to decision-makers, opinion-makers and policy-makers. With no
pre-determined topic and no speeches, the guest immediately responds
to questions from the audience and from those who have submitted
questions online. The audience also enters into dialogue with the
guest. In this case, environmental activist Karine Danielyan argued,
`The demand often runs into a wall,' citing cases where a new business
was clearly preferred while community needs were ignored when
environmental safety was at stake. Tovmasyan agreed but reminded the
audience not to forget the successful cases when construction was
stopped due to public demand for the sake of environmental safety and
architectural integrity. `Five years ago, you would see trees cut down
every step of the way, whereas now public figures think not just
twice, but three times before ordering a cut-down, and this is solely
due to public opinion. Public demand always precedes and exceeds what
the state can do to satisfy it,' said Tovmasyan encouraging discussion
participants to stay true to their cause and continue the good work.
The discussion touched upon judicial independence and impartiality of
Armenian courts. `The constitution provides for the separation of the
judicial branch from legislative and executive branches,' said
Tovmasyan, an expert in constitutional law. `However, it is not solely
the task of the constitution to guarantee an independent judicial
power and to instill the correct perception of justice in judges. It
is impossible to tackle this with just constitutional reforms. The
society needs to step in.'
The Minister explained that the Justice Ministry's responsibilities
revolve around the development of the Criminal Code, and
administrative or disciplinary actions related to judicial officers.
He talked about a recent survey conducted by his students which showed
that 84 percent of respondents were ready to resort to bribery to
arrive at some illegal solution to a problem, while 63 percent of
respondents would resort to illegal methods to provide a solution to a
legal matter as well. `We have a clear need for change in society's
thinking. There are no other alternatives to an impartial judicial
system,' concluded Tovmasyan.
The Minister was also asked questions of a political nature. He
responded to a question about early parliamentary elections by
explaining that `If prior to the 2005 constitutional reforms, the
president could, at any time, for political reasons alone, dissolve
the National Assembly, then following the 2005 reforms, only under
specific circumstances is the President able to dissolve the National
Assembly and hold special elections,' said Tovmasyan. `There is no
such legal basis for special elections at this moment, nor do I
believe that there are political, social or economic bases either.'
Towards the end of the discussion Tovmasyan revealed his teaching
philosophy as a professor and what he tries to pass on through his
lectures to the next generation of Armenian lawyers. `Many think that
a good lawyer is one who knows a lot of laws. Jurisprudence is, again,
a way of thinking - either you have it or you don't. I try to convey
this to my students, which always reminds me of what my own professor
used to say years ago that jurisprudence is the ability to read in
between the lines of the law.'
From: Baghdasarian