Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today visited the Ministry of Justice to discuss the Ministry’s ongoing and upcoming programs. The discussion was attended by Chief of Staff of the Office of the Prime Minister Arsen Torosyan, Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan, the deputy ministers, heads of subordinate bodies and other officials.

Prior to the meeting, the Prime Minister visited the Integrated Public Services Office to familiarize himself with the services provided to citizens and their efficiency. It was noted that all necessary conditions were created in the Office to receive services of the Civil Registry Agency, State Register of Legal Entities, State Revenue Committee, National Archives, Social Security Service, Migration Service, Cadastre Committee, Funeral Bureau, as well as notary services. The Center provides about 100 public services, the scope of which will be expanded in the future.

Prime Minister Pashinyan noted that the Ministry of Justice has a wide range of activities, but is primarily associated with policy making and legislation in the judicial and judicial system. “And I am glad that recently we have given a great impetus to the reforms of the judicial sphere. Of course, the results of these actions and reforms cannot be seen immediately but I am confident that by consistent steps we will be able to achieve our goal - to establish an independent and fair judicial system. We have recently witnessed attempts to politicize the judicial system, which is unacceptable and undermines the very idea of a judicial power and the idea of justice. We must set up not only active, but also long-term mechanisms in order not only to eradicate such phenomena, but also to prevent them altogether,” the Premier underscored.

Nikol Pashinyan noted that there are many services that citizens use in the sphere of activity of the Ministry of Justice. “It is important for us to ensure that these services are provided with high quality and as comfortably as possible. Before coming here, we visited the Integrated Public Services Office. The purpose of these offices is that citizens do not have to visit dozens of institutions within the same function or within the same case. Now such services are provided in various areas. Such services are also provided in the field of social security. I hope this practice will justify itself, and we will have a full-fledged network of services nationwide. Now we are discussing several options, scenarios of development of this network, and we are very close to making final decisions,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister gave the floor to Minister Rustam Badasyan, who presented progress in the activities implemented by the Ministry. First, the minister touched upon the work carried out to form the Anti-Corruption Committee and its structure. The building of the committee will have an area of 5500 square meters. 2.7 billion drams shall be invested in the project, construction will last 2.5 years. The committee will have 150 employees. The minister noted that the commission will begin its activities earlier, in another temporary place. According to Rustam Badasyan, the head of the committee will be elected on a competitive basis. The minister next referred to the formation of the Anti-Corruption Court, the measures aimed at replenishing the judicial system with new judges, reforms of the institution of arbitration, as a result of which a significant unloading of the judicial system is expected. The measures taken resulted in the number of cases of money confiscation in courts from 172 thousand in 2018 to 108 thousand in 2019. Those cases numbered 47 thousand in the first half of 2020. The establishment of the Arbitration Center is expected to help give a new impetus to reforms in this area. As a result, disputes will be resolved more efficiently in a shorter timeframe and online.

The officials in charge reported on the work on the implementation of e-justice and the Patrol Service. It was noted that the number of preliminary applications for the trainings organized for inclusion in the Patrol Service system exceeded 2,500, contracts were signed with 770 of them which passed the three-stage verification: only 1/3 are current police officers. The trainings are conducted by internationally trained specialists.

Issues related to the improvement of the civil registration system, introducing a new catering system in penitentiary institutions, as a result of which convicts and detainees will be provided with high-quality food; penitentiary institutions will be furnished with modern equipment. The officials in charge believe that the latter will help improve the effectiveness of the fight against corruption. In conclusion, the meeting heard a report on the reforms in the Compulsory Enforcement Service.