The official reason for the decision announced by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Friday is Vahe Misakian’s handling of another trial that involved Vazgen Manukian, a veteran politician who was accused in 2021 of calling for a violent overthrow of the government. Manukian was convicted and fined 400,000 drams (just over $1,000) in June this year.
The Ministry of Justice claims that Misakian artificially dragged out Manukian’s trial. The judge denied that when the SJC began last month hearings on the ministry’s demand. He said the trial lasted for three years because of his work overload and law-enforcement bodies’ failure to ensure the prominent defendant’s attendance of court hearings scheduled by him.
The SJC concluded however, that Misakian committed a “significant disciplinary violation” and must be removed from the bench.
“Obviously, I don’t agree with the decision, but since I don’t have the [full text of the] decision right now, I don’t think it right to make any comment,” Misakian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
The judge again declined to comment on widespread suggestions that the real reason for the ministry’s appeal to the SJC is his decision to acquit Sarkisian at the end of a four-year trial in May. He said it would not be “correct” to make such a claim because “the disciplinary action was about a different case.”
As recently as in July, the SJC fired another judge, Anna Danibekian, who presided over the marathon trial of Robert Kocharian, another former Armenian president at odds with the current government.
That trial ended without a verdict last December, with Kocharian invoking the statute of limitations that expired in May 2023. The SJC backed Ministry of Justice claims that Danibekian failed to prevent Kocharian from dragging out the trial.
Danibekian’s sacking stoked claims by Armenian opposition leaders and legal experts that Pashinian’s government is seeking to further curb judicial independence in the country under the guise of Western-backed “judicial reforms.” The government denies that.
The SJC chairman, Karen Andreasian, is a former justice minister and member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party. The Ministry of Justice was headed until this week by his close friend, Grigor Minasian. The number of disciplinary proceedings against judges initiated by the ministry has increased significantly on their watch.