US embassy cable - 05YEREVAN1829

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 YEREVAN 001829 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PINR, AM 
SUBJECT: ARMENIA'S JUDGES STEP FORWARD 
 
 
1. (U)  SUMMARY: At their autumn general meeting, Armenia's 
judges collectively stole a march on the country's ruling 
political parties and came out strongly and forthrightly in 
favor of the Council-of-Europe-approved Constitutional 
amendments, while also approving a Code of Ethics that 
USAID-supported ABA-CEELI has been pressing for over a year. 
In addition, several court appointments and resultant 
decisions over the summer seem to have brightened the 
prospects for Armenia's judiciary gradually emerging from the 
shadow of the executive. END SUMMARY 
 
2.  (U)  The Association of Judges of the Republic of Armenia 
(AJRA) met in annual plenary session on October 10 in 
Yerevan.  There were two items of business, approval of the 
constitutional amendments (which have been approved in third 
parliamentary reading, and sent to the President for 
promulgation as the subject of the November 27 referendum), 
and approval of the draft Judges' Code of Ethics (or 
Conduct).  Both items were discussed at some length by 
multiple speakers.  While it seemed to us that the outcome of 
the debate was probably foreordained, discussion was lively 
and intelligent, and discussants hailed from a broad range of 
courts within the system, the moribund Constitutional Court 
being the one notable absentee.  There follows a 
represenative smattering of quotations from the speakers 
designed to give some sense of the discussion.  Proceedings 
of the session will eventually be published. 
 
Discussion of Constitutional Amendments 
--------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (U)  Some of the points made by the speakers: 
 
Justice Minister David Harutyunian set the stage by noting 
that it had been determined by experts that the single most 
important variable in determining a country's success on the 
road to development was not mineral or other natural 
resources but a well-functioning judiciary. Speaking from 
handwritten notes, the Justice Minister admitted that the 
amendments were not perfect, but argued that they represented 
the most the political situation would permit.  He called on 
the Association of Judges to endorse them.  Note: Harutyunian 
was one of the primary drafters of the proposed amendments. 
End Note. 
 
Ombudsman Larisa Alayerdyan, in a short talk, stressed the 
human rights advantages that Armenian society would derive 
from the amended constitution, saying that it would become a 
"true safeguard," and a "cornerstone for the rule of law." 
 
Delivering the main address, the newly-appointed Chairman of 
the Court of Cassation, Hovhannes Manukyan, assessed the 
amendments as representing a "great possibility for 
significant progress" towards democracy in the Republic of 
Armenia, but took care to note that, in endorsing them, the 
judges would be carrying out their civic duty, not taking a 
political position. He noted that the amendments would mean 
an increased role for the Court of Cassation -- which will 
essentially become the highest court in the land -- and would 
deal with the problem of "inaccessibility of constitutional 
justice," a reference to the fact that the Constitutional 
Court has been virtually moribund, with few cases brought 
before it, especially after its role in the contested and 
flawed elections of 2003, when it was politicized and then 
ignored.  The Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Gagik 
Harutyunyan, was listed as a speaker on the program of the 
event, but was not in evidence. 
 
Arman Mkrtumyan, chair of the Chamber of Civil and Economic 
Cases, Court of Cassation, argued that the amendments would 
bring about a "unified system of courts," which is code for 
case law and reliance on precedent; the phrase is used to 
avoid antagonizing Soviet-mentality law professors at the 
Yerevan State University who have a deeply ingrained aversion 
to the concept. 
 
Mher Khachatryan, Chair of the Chamber of Criminal and 
Military Cases of the Court of Cassation, called it "an 
historic day for the independence of judges."  He cited an 
aphorism, "tell me how independent your Prosecutor General is 
and I will tell you how independent are your judges."  The 
Prosecutor General, Aghvan Hovsepyan, also was listed in the 
program as a speaker, but was out of the country, as he later 
explained to us. 
 
Eduard Muradian, Chair of the Economic Court, cited the 
amendment of article 92 of the Constitution as establishing 
the unity of the judiciary, ensuring "unified application of 
the laws," and "extending legal fairness and full protections 
to the population."  He noted that the amendments would play 
an important role in strengthening democracy and the rule of 
law.  Note: one of the persistent criticisms of the courts in 
Armenia has been that cases can migrate from one branch of 
the judicial system to another, with varying results.  The 
hope is that with "unity of the judiciary" and introduction 
of rules of precedent -- case law -- this problem can be 
brought under control.  End Note. 
 
Tigran Sahayan, chair of the Appeal Court of Criminal and 
Military Cases, discussed the tools that the courts would 
have in future, and stressed that case law would in time 
itself become a source of law. 
 
Ara Kubanyan of the First Instance Court of Erebuni and 
Nubarshen (Yerevan) stressed the responsiblity of court 
officials to carry out decisions of the courts, and gave some 
examples in which this had not been done.  He also spoke of 
the change of the term of parliamentary deputies, the amended 
article on impeachment, the veto power, the limitation of the 
Prosecutor General to two terms of office, and the 
limitations placed on the president to convene the whole 
government except in certain limited cases involving foreign 
affairs and national security as improvements to the system. 
 
Anatoliy Matevosyan, a judge of the Economic Court, also 
spoke of the problem of migration of cases through the 
system, and said that the effect of the amendments would be 
to eliminate this ill.  He noted that the process of amending 
the Constitution had taken seven years, and that, by adopting 
the package, Armenia would honor its commitment to the 
Council of Europe.  Matevosyan also spoke of "improved checks 
and balances and separation of powers" in the amended system, 
focusing especially on the increased independence of the 
Justice Council, which will in future have no representative 
of the Executive, and will deal with all matters affecting 
judges, and have the responsibility for disciplining them. 
 
After a matter-of-fact presentation of the resolution in 
favor of the amendments presented by Hrachik Sargsyan of the 
Armavir First Instance Court and Chairman of the AJRA, the 
resolution was put to a voice vote and passed unanimously. 
 
4. (U) COMMENT:  While the judges have now come out firmly in 
favor of the constitutional amendments, it is being reported 
that the three coalition parties have been squabbling over 
how to proceed in the "vote yest" campaign.  They have 
apparently established a campaign headquarters, but it is as 
yet unclear whether one individual will head the effort or 
whether there will be some kind of collective approach.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
Judges' Code of Conduct 
----------------------- 
 
5. (U) The Judges' Code of Conduct has been a goal of the 
ABA/CEELI program sponsored by USAID under the FREEDOM 
Support Act.  Although praise for ABA/CEELI and other unnamed 
American experts was heard during the discussion, it was not 
effusive and did not detract from the discussion of the role 
of judges in Armenian society.  Some representative 
quotations from the discussion: 
 
David Avetisyan, deputy chair of the AJRA and a judge of the 
Court of Cassation, led off by saying that the desired high 
status of judges in a society depended on their standards of 
ethics, and recalled that the earlier code of ethics had been 
adopted in 1999, prior to Armenia's accession to the Council 
of Europe, and was in need of wholesale revision.  In calling 
for the adoption of the new Code of Conduct, he specified 
three goals: to strengthen judicial independence, to increase 
the accountability of judges, and to raise public confidence 
in the judiciary.  This involved strict impartiality on the 
part of judges, who must get rid of improper ties, resigning 
from cases if necessary, and not only carry out their work 
without any hint of prejudice, but also behave properly 
outside the courtroom, avoiding contact with parties to a 
court proceeding, and acting with competence and diligence. 
 
Suren Mnoyan , Chair of the Aragatsotn First Instance Court, 
recalled discussions with American experts and stressed the 
importance of judges' complying with, and being seen to 
comply with, the ethics standards. 
 
Tigran Petrosyan, Judge of the Court of First Instance in 
Armavir, also stressed that the new standards were necessary, 
and that judges should aspire to honor them and be tightly 
held to them. 
 
Karine Ghazaryan, a Judge of the appeals Court of Criminal 
and Military Cases, appealed for a future for the children of 
Armenia that included fair courts, perceived as being fair. 
 
Khachatur Baghdasaryan, a judge of the first instance court 
of Avan and Nor Nork, emphasized that in any democracy the 
public needed to have confidence in the judiciary.  He 
recalled that the work on the code of ethics had taken place 
over two years, and invoked the "Bangalore Principles." 
 
Hrachik Sargsyan presented the resolution approving the draft 
code.  Two amendments were proposed and adopted before the 
resolution, as amended, was voted upon.  The first (from the 
Ombudsman) called for the resolution to be distributed not 
only to the professional legal community, but to the broader 
public.  The second called on the Board of the Court Council 
to add a commentary to the Code of Conduct using  practical 
examples.   The resolution was adopted by voice vote, 
apparently unanimously. 
 
6. (U)  COMMENT: It was striking that the judges spoke openly 
and freely, despite the presence of the Minister of Justice, 
about the need to reduce the interference of the Executive in 
judicial issues.  Looking at the broader context, several 
sources have commented to us in recent days that the new 
court appointments that were announced early this summer, in 
particular that of Hovhannes Manukyan to chair the Court of 
Cassation, have breathed new life into the Armenian court 
system.  It was the Chamber of Criminal and Militaqry Cases 
of the Court of Cassation that,  on July 22, essentially 
"struck down" the Soviet-era provision for five days' 
administrative detention in criminal cases, effectively 
establishing a form of habeas corpus in Armenia for the first 
time.  Another judge in whom high hopes have been expressed 
is Eduard Muradyan, the new chairman of the Economic Court 
(who, by the way, is a graduate of the Muskie program, having 
studied in Ohio in the mid-1990s.)  END COMMENT. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EVANS