International donors have agreed to finance a sharp increase in the salaries of Armenia’s judges sought by the Armenian government, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Thursday.
Pashinian said that a roughly fivefold pay rise is vital for reforming Armenian courts and making them independent and free from corruption.
He argued that judges are no longer able to take bribes or engage in business en masse and have to live off their current salaries ranging from 400,000 to 600,000 drams ($830-$1,250) per month. These wages also discourage well-paid lawyers working for private firms from seeking to take the bench, he said.
“Our partners, international donors will support Armenia on this issue,” Pashinian told the parliament. “For two or three years we will be able to keep these high salaries of the current judges and new judges at between 2.5 million and 3 million drams ($5,200-$6,200). That will have no direct impact on our state budget.”
“In the meantime, the opposition, government, civil society and the public will see that it’s good to have an independent judicial system,” he said, adding that the favorable public opinion will then allow the government to finance the much higher wages from the state budget.
Pashinian did not specify which international organizations or foreign governments are ready to allocate such funding for the 229 judges of various Armenian courts.
Both the European Union and the Council of Europe have expressed readiness to assist in sweeping judicial reforms planned by Pashinian’s government. They have stressed that the reforms must conform to Armenia’s constitution and international commitments.
Pashinian last month called for a mandatory vetting of all judges after a court in Yerevan released from prison his bitter foe and former President Robert Kocharian, who is facing serious criminal charges. The premier insisted that he wants to make the judicial system “truly independent.” His critics claim he is on the contrary seeking to gain control over the courts.