The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) also accepted government demands to dismiss three other judges on the grounds that their past verdicts were overturned by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Some Armenia legal experts regard these grounds as unconstitutional.
The Armenian Ministry of Justice initiated disciplinary proceedings against the other, more famous and respected judge, Davit Harutiunian, after he claimed that the SJC arbitrarily fires his colleagues at the behest of a single person.
“In my view, more than two dozen judges have been relieved of their duties in various illegal ways,” he told reporters two months ago.
The Ministry of Justice responded by accusing Harutiunian of discrediting the Armenian judiciary and jeopardizing its impartiality. The SJC, which is headed by former Justice Minister Karen Andreasian, decided to oust him after several hearings that were held behind the closed doors despite strong objections from the judge, his lawyers as well as journalists.
The SCJ did not immediately specify the reason for the decision. Andreasian refused to talk to the press both before and after its announcement.
Harutiunian condemned the decision while saying that he anticipated it. He said he will appeal to the ECHR and file a “crime report” against Andreasian with Armenian law-enforcement authorities over what he described as serious procedural violations committed by the SJC.
“The Supreme Judicial Council must set an example for judges,” Harutiunian told reporters. “But as we can see, the opposite is the case.”
The sackings of the judges are bound to stoke opposition allegations that Pashinian’s government is seeking to further curb judicial independence in Armenia under the guise of Western-backed “judicial reforms.” They highlight the Armenian authorities’ growing recourse to punitive measures against judges, which was facilitated by a 2021 which Andreasian had helped to enact in his previous capacity as justice minister. The number of disciplinary proceedings against them has risen sharply in the last two years.
Last December, the SJC controversially fired a judge married to a vocal critic of the government. The judge, Anna Pilosian, was officially punished for excessive delays in the publication of verdicts handed down by her in four civil cases.
Another Yerevan judge, Zaruhi Nakhshkarian, openly criticized Pilosian’s sacking. Nakhshkarian lost her job in February because of that. Her ouster was also initiated by the Ministry of Justice.
As justice minister, Andreasian repeatedly called for a mandatory “vetting” of Armenian judges, an idea that prompted serious misgivings from European legal experts. In February 2022, he stated that the SJC must fire scores of judges, including those who openly accused the authorities of pressuring courts.
Andreasian was affiliated with Pashinian’s Civil Contract party until becoming a member and then the head of the SJC in October. Another member of the judicial watchdog resigned a few days after his appointment, saying that the SJC can no longer protect judicial independence.
