The Prime Minister of The Republic of Armenia has no authority at any stage of selecting or appointing judges: Ministry of Justice

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia has no authority, influence, or involvement
at any stage of the selection or appointment of judges. According to Armenpress, the
Ministry of Justice of Armenia issued a statement denying information published on the VT
Foreign Policy platform claiming that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan appointed judges
from his close circle in order to “cleanse” the country’s political field, and that this process
is connected to upcoming elections.

“The above-mentioned allegations are disinformation and do not comply with the
constitutional and legislative regulations in force in the Republic of Armenia.
We emphasize that the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia has no authority,
influence, or involvement at any stage of selecting or appointing judges, and the judicial
appointment process is carried out exclusively in accordance with constitutional and
legislative regulations,” the statement of the department said.

It also emphasized that the procedure for selecting and appointing judges in Armenia is
clearly defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and the Constitutional Law
“Judicial Code of the Republic of Armenia.”

For example, the selection of a first-instance judge is conducted through a multi-stage,
competitive, and transparent process that includes:
acceptance and verification of candidates’ applications,
a written qualification exam in the relevant field of specialization,
an advisory integrity opinion issued by the Corruption Prevention Commission,
an interview to assess professional and personal qualities.

Based on the results of these stages, the Supreme Judicial Council compiles a list of
candidates, which is submitted to the Justice Academy for mandatory training. After
completing the training at the Academy, candidates are included in the relevant lists of
judicial candidates, and only individuals included in those lists may be submitted to the
President of the Republic for appointment.

Judges of first-instance and appellate courts are appointed by the President of the
Republic upon the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council.
In the case of judges of the Court of Cassation, candidates are nominated by the National
Assembly through the selection of one candidate from three proposed by the Supreme
Judicial Council.

The statement also notes that the process of selecting and appointing judges cannot serve
political purposes or be linked to electoral processes, and that VT Foreign Policy’s claims
on this matter are not based on facts or a legal framework and constitute disinformation.