Work done in anti-corruption field presented to mass media representatives

Upon initiative of the Ministry of Justice, a seminar for mass media representatives was held jointly with the Prosecutor General's Office, the Supreme Judicial Council, the Anti-Corruption Committee and the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, and Head of the Department for International Legal Cooperation of the Ministry of Justice Anahit Abrahamyan delivered her opening remarks.

Anahit Abrahamyan stated that even though the public is regularly informed from state bodies about the reforms being implemented within the scope of the fight against corruption, nevertheless, journalists also highly contribute to the co-ordinated, targeted and goal-oriented, very often direct communication of the state bodies with the public. Journalists are also those fighting for justice who always speak out about defective corruption phenomena.

In his opening remarks, Deputy Director of the Armenia Integrity Project of the USAID Tatchat Stepanyan provided details of the Project and emphasised that the holding of such events is important for media representatives.

Head of the Division for Anti-Corruption Monitoring of the Ministry Hasmik Tigranyan presented the anti-corruption policy, the completed activities which arise from the 2019-2022 Anti-Corruption Strategy — prevention of corruption (expansion of the scope of declaration and statements; improvement of the regulations for distribution of gifts, conflict of interests; integrity check; rules of conduct, etc.), detection of corruption crimes (adoption of new criminal and criminal procedure legislation; criminal liability of legal persons; review of scope of corruption crimes; detection of beneficial owners; improvement of the whistle-blowing system, etc.).

Head of the Division for Issues on Proceedings against Judges of the Supreme Judicial Council Makar Kirakosyan presented to the journalists the composition and functions of Anti-Corruption Courts.

Head of the Department for Cases of Confiscation of Illicit Property of the Prosecutor General's Office Siro Amirkhanyan touched upon confiscation of illicit property and its application as a tool to fight against corruption.

The speaker presented the studies already conducted and completed since the establishment of the Department.

Deputy Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption Committee Mushegh Babayan and Head of the Legal Support Department of the Committee Emma Avagyan presented the powers and investigative subordination of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the concepts related to preliminary investigation and the initiation of criminal proceedings.

Afterwards, Senior Prosecutor of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Armenia Ashot Zhamkochyan presented the whistle-blowing system as an anonymous means for the fight against corruption.

Chairperson of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption Haykuhi Harutyunyan also delivered a speech for the journalists in which she presented the mandate and functions of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption.

At the end of the seminar, the journalists discussed the topics with the speakers, asked questions and expressed opinions.

The seminar was held with the support of the USAID Armenia Integrity Project and the International Republican Institute, within the scope of the Communication Action Plan for the Fight against Corruption approved upon the decision of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.