Please rise, the Judge Is Approaching the bench!
00:00, April 6, 2011 | News | Right to Fair Trial
Public advocate Mels Goginyan, who represents 72-year Maksim Petrosyan’s interests, intends to appeal the Court of Appeals decision over applying detention as a preventive measure against his client.
It should be noted that on March 20, 2011 a solicitation was submitted to Lori Region Court of First Instance by the Investigative Body to applydetention as a preventive measure against Maksim, whereas Judge Narine Hovakimyan rejected the solicitation and replaced it with a decision to release upon his signed agreement not to leave the city.Protests regarding this case began immediately when the court dared to reject the Investigative Body’s solicitationin terms of law and legitimacy.
The Prosecutor General Office, in particular, Lori Region Prosecutor General Karen Shahbazyan, was the first person to attack and slander the court regarding the decision. Advocates, who disseminated the announcement, claim that Karen Shahbazyan had violated the presumption of innocence by labeling Maksim Petrosyan as a criminal and “killer”.
Unfortunately, such a disposition by the General Prosecutor’s office is typical and occurs in many criminal cases. The General Prosecutor’s Office determines the functions of the Court and when the Court dares to make independent decisions, the latter adopts preventive measures, specifically as in the case of Karen Shahbazyan’s public criticism targeted at the courts’ legal decisions. In response to Karen Shahbazyan’s public criticism, twenty-three advocates from the Lori Region came up with a statement, which stressed that the prosecutor haddiminished the RA Constitution, and violated the principle of presumption of innocence endorsed in the RA Constitution and International Legal Acts ratified by the RA as well as exerted pressure on the Court with his statement. The point is that the Court of Appeals reached a decision to apply detention against 72-year-old Maksim Petrosyan based on the claim submitted by the Prosecutor General’s Office. Thereby, it refrained from any interaction with the Prosecutor General’s Office, whereas, after the resolution taken by the Court of First Instance, there was a great need for consistency to maintain the legal decision. Yesterday the RA Association of Judges came up with an announcement, which is exceptional in the RA history. This incident occurred after the Court of Appeals reached the resolution, but the fact of its occurrence matters more. With its statement, the RA Association of Judges endorsedthe Independent Court. It specifically stated in the announcement.”In his speech given in the presence of impartial observers of the public audience, the Lori Region Prosecutor didn’t respect the independence and impartiality of the courtdisplaying disrespect towards the Court and casting doubt on the legitimacy of the court act. The RA Association of Judges, which is comprised of judges from all occurrences, showed the Prosecutor’s Office its place by referring to the aforementioned law provision. It is worth reminding Karen Shahbazyan that according to Article 6, Part 2 of the RA Judicial Code, the prosecutor must respect the independence and impartiality of the court; in particular, the prosecutor should not perform acts that will cast doubt on the lawfulness of a court act, or hinder the enforcement thereof….
Taking into account that Article 6, Part 2 of the RA Judicial Code directly foresees a court sanction prescribed by law in cases of disrespect towards the independence and impartiality of the court. In the statement the RA Council of Courts’ chairpersons directly presented the grounds for the disciplinary liability of the prosecutor. Therefore, the RA Council of courts’ chairpersons views Karen Shahbazyan’s public announcement as unacceptable, as it casts doubt on the lawfulness of the legal act, and considers it disrespectful towardsthe Court. Itchallenges all public officials to take advantage of their rights to appeal legal acts in cases they disagree with and refrain from badpractice to publicly cast doubt on the lawfulness of legal acts.
The RA Association of Judges anticipates the RA Prosecutor General to issue disciplinary liability against Lori Region Prosecutor Karen Shahbazyan.
www.lragir.am
Zhanna Aleksanyan
P.S. The announcement disseminated by the RA Association of Judges is welcomed as most of the judges now feel protected.