Minister of Justice visits Republic of France

On 18-20 June, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia Artak Zeynalyan was on a working visit to the Republic of France. Within the scope of the visit, the Minister met with Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni.

Minister Zeynalyan noted that the Government of the Republic of Armenia highly appreciated the effective co-operation established with the Council of Europe in the field of reforms in the justice sector, human rights protection, the fight against corruption, the penitentiary system, and emphasised that the Government was willing to continue fulfilling the commitments assumed before the Council of Europe. During the meeting, the parties touched upon the Armenia-Council of Europe 2015-2018 Action Plan, which is being finalised, sector-specific priorities of the 2019-2022 Action Plan, as well as the activities targeted at the fight against corruption.

Artak Zeynalyan also emphasised the need to hold snap parliamentary elections as soon as possible; he noted that the elections need to be based on the essential reforms of the Electoral Code and the electoral system, attaching importance, in this context, to the support of the Council of Europe to hold democratic, fair and transparent elections in the Republic of Armenia.

On the same day, the Minister of Justice also met with President of the European Court of Human Rights Guido Raimondi. With his counterpart, Artak Zeynalyan touched upon the judgements rendered by the ECHR against the Republic of Armenia and the process of their implementation. They bilaterally emphasised that the achievements made as a result of active co-operation with the relevant institutions of the Council of Europe were clear to see.

Within the scope of the working visit, the Minister met with Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe Christos Giakoumopoulos, as well as Director General for Democracy of the Council of Europe Snežana Samardžić-Marković. The discussion with the latter was on the reforms taking place in human rights protection, penitentiary, probation and judicial-legal fields in Armenia.