17:00, 25 December 2009

Ombudsman of Armenia: courts are under prosecutors' pressure

Armen Arutyunyan, Ombudsman of Armenia has presented his extraordinary public report "Ensuring Fair Litigation in the Republic of Armenia", where the abnormal operation of the judiciary was treated as a "systemic problem."

In the opinion of the Ombudsman, the courts are remaining under the influence of the prosecutor's office and pursue the principle "the stronger always blames the weaker."

Mr Arutyunyan has noted that he covered many processes, not only those concerning the events of March 1, 2008, in Yerevan, when the authorities dispersed the mass actions of the Armenian opposition.

The report deals a lot with the ownership (property) issue, stating that in Armenia, as a matter of fact, right of ownership remains unprotected.

The Ombudsman has also stated that ordinary citizens have no trust in the judiciary. In their turn, the courts are not always ready to eliminate the violations admitted during the preliminary investigation.

Author: Lilit Ovanisyan

Source: CK correspondent