Armenian judges must not be sanctioned financially or otherwise for their rulings that fall foul of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Justice Minister Davit Harutiunian said on Wednesday.
Thousands of Armenians have appealed to the ECHR since their country submitted itself to the Strasbourg tribunal’s jurisdiction over a decade ago. The court has ruled against the Armenian state on more than 70 occasions to date.
In 2016 alone, it awarded 143,000 euros ($168,000) in damages to individuals whose rights were found to have been violated by Armenian government, law-enforcement or judicial bodies. The authorities in Yerevan will have to pay another 44,000 euros in line with ECHR rulings handed down so far this year.
The hefty fines have fueled calls in Armenia for corresponding financial sanctions against local judges responsible for the ECHR verdicts.
Harutiunian categorically objected to this idea. “The whole point of the judicial system is that a judge must not pay from their pocket,” he said.
“And if there are mistakes within that system, it is the country, not the judge, that is first and foremost responsible for them. That is why our country is taking steps to ensure a higher quality of justice,” added the minister.
Nina Karapetian, a human rights lawyer who has filed many lawsuits to Strasbourg on behalf of Armenian citizens, said Harutiunian’s arguments would be valid only in countries with established independent judiciaries. “In a normal country, we will be right to pay [compensations ordered by the ECHR] from the state budget if we trust our courts,” she said. “But there is widespread trust in the judicial system [of Armenia.]”
Another attorney, Armine Fanian, agreed with Harutiunian but said judges responsible for ECHR rulings against Armenia must face other, administrative sanctions, including dismissal. She complained no Armenian judge has been sanctioned for that reason so far.