“The Human Rights Defender finds it necessary to address the Armenian Prime Minister’s call on blocking the entrances and exits of all courthouses of the country, noting:
In a lengthy statement released shortly before midnight April 19, Tatoyan highlighted the separation of powers, and emphasized that all officials “are unconditionally bound to respectfully treat one another and be guided solely by the imperative and limits reserved to them by their status”.
“Any interference in the activities of courts and their serving of justice in Armenia is banned”, he said.
Tatoyan, however, did admit that problems exist in Armenia’s judiciary, “including related to external and internal independence of courts, the low trust of citizens for courts, full guarantees of free trials”.
He said that based on received complaints, there are even some judges who are damaging the judiciary’s reputation with their conduct.
The Ombudsman emphasized that the solution of the problems should be reached exclusively through lawful methods, and called for guaranteeing the “high value of judicial independence” during the process.
“Therefore, the Armenian Prime Minister’s call or statement regarding blocking the entrances and exits of all courthouses in the republic and not allowing anyone to enter the courts, is highly dangerous for the security and s...
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