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On April 30, 2011 advocate Edmon Marukyan, a member of the Palace of Advocates, submitted an administrative claim to the RA Judicial Department against the activities of judicial bailiffs, who are in charge of controlling over persons entering the RA Criminal Court of Appeal Building.

On April 29 of 2011, advocate Edmon Marukyan received notification to participate in two sessions at the RA Criminal Court of Appeal. The judicial bailiffs checked the advocate’s identity and allowed him to enter the first court session.

However, when he tried to re-enter for the second court session, the bailiff not only checked his personal ID card again, but also claimed he would have to check Marukyan’s bag. Edmon Marukyan objected and asked why the bailiff hadn’t checked the bag of RA SIS SIC investigator Hovakimyan, who also participated in the same court session. The judicial bailiff stated, “He is the accusing party and that is why we don’t check his bag, the law does not require…” The advocate informed the RA SIS SIC investigator that Hovakimyan was not the accusing party and even if he were, the judicial bailiffs had no right to carry out their discrimination policies which allow the accusing party interrogator and the prosecutor access into the RA Criminal Court of Appeal Building without inspection, while demanding that the advocates have an obligatory search. The judicial bailiff threatened the advocate that if he didn’t leave the court room, “things would get worse”. 

The advocate insisted that the bailiffs’ actions were illegal, which restricted the implementation of the advocate’s authorizations.

The advocate demands that the RA Judicial Department satisfy the submitted administrative claim against the actions of the administrative body by recognizing the appeal to be illegal and bringing the judicial bailiffs, who control the access of people to the RA Criminal Court of Appeal building and carried out the illegal actions at15:50-16:00p.m on April 29, 2011, to liability.

It is worth noting that the resolution taken by the RA SIS SIC investigator Hovakimyan to reject filing a criminal case was appealed during the second session. In this case, a police official exceeded his official authorizations by forcefully taking Garnik Melkonyan to the Tashir Police Department and exerted abuse upon him. RA SIS Investigator G. Melkonyan has refused to file a criminal case based on absence of a crime.