Joint Committee of Ministries of Justice of the Republic of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran holds first meeting; joint protocol on future co-operation signed

The Ministry of Justice hosted the first meeting of the Joint Committee of the Ministries of Justice of the Republic of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was chaired by Deputy Minister of Justice Armenuhi Harutyunyan from the Armenian side and Minister of Justice of the Islamic Republic of Iran Askar Jalalian from the Iranian side.

The bedrock of the Committee was laid through the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministers of Justice of the two countries within the scope of the visit of the Minister of Justice in 2021. Deputy Minister of Justice Armenuhi Harutyunyan greeted all the participants of the meeting and expressed gratitude to the head and members of the Iranian delegation for launching the activities of the Committee and accepting the invitation to hold the first meeting in the city of Yerevan.

Within the scope of topics of the Committee for discussion, the delegations assessed the progress of implementation of the interstate agreements that are signed between the Republic of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran and that regulate the legal sector.

The process of implementation of the Agreement "On mutual legal assistance in civil and criminal matters between the Republic of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran" of 5 July 2006 was a separate matter for discussion, as a result of which it was decided to supplement the mentioned agreement with a new provision, i.e., with the option of providing each other with the amendments agreed through diplomatic channels.

Having recorded outstanding successes in the field of handover (extradition) and transfer of convicts between the two countries, the parties reached an agreement to solve the problems arising during implementation of the agreements within the scope of partnership, by providing practical solutions for the current obstacles.

The parties reached an agreement to make the activities of the Committee yearly activities, by convening them in the cities of Yerevan and Tehran, as they help significantly enhance and develop the bilateral co-operation in the field of legal assistance.

The results of the discussion of the issues on the agenda for the first meeting of the Committee and the decisions rendered were summed up in the Protocol, which was agreed upon by the participants and signed by the heads of the delegations.