An exaggerated and undocumented article devoted to the conduct of notary exam has been published

The article about the qualification exam of notaries public published by "Hetq" media outlet contains a number of distortions of reality and media manipulations, and we will touch upon them one by one below.

1. The "Hetq" media outlet, as a deficiency, indicated the fact that the written test of the examination was not conducted via computer, but, as prescribed, two methods were permitted, and the Ministry of Justice chose the writing method, which helped to save approximately AMD 20 million, taking into consideration the fact that there were 70 candidates and the cost for providing all of them with equipment. It should also be mentioned that the writing method helped to eliminate any possibility for examiners to possibly have known which candidate's work they were examining.
2. In the publication, it is stated that the test answers were allegedly found with one of the participants during the exam, but the Control Department and the Commission found useful materials with the participant, which were immediately recorded, and the participant was disqualified from the written examination. At least, after this action it is illogical to question the written examination on this ground.
3. In the article, unprofessional assessment was given to the answers of three candidates, and judgements were made about how many marks each candidate should have received.

The media outlet allowed itself to take on the role of a professional commission, and in its article, it made assumed distribution of points on a 20-point scale among the participants, specifying how many points each candidate should have received. The media outlet mentioned, as a deficiency, for instance, a particular candidate's concise response. In another case, the author of the article assesses that the answers were clearer and more comprehensive. In another article, the author mentions that the candidate was prepared, but was not better than the previous participant.

4. The media outlet was not informed and did not verify in advance that, in addition to the interview, candidates were also assessed through the written test. By the way, the candidates who passed the oral test, received the highest scores on the written examination.
5. "Hetq" media outlet made an unfounded accusation, stating that one of the participants applied to be a notary public in several territories and later withdrew, proceeding from certain agreements. We consider it necessary to inform that a candidate can apply for the vacancy of notary public in more than one marz. In this circumstance, one of the candidates has applied for the available vacancies in Gegharkunik and Kotayk Marzes and then, by his or her own choice, preferred to participate in the interview for the available vacancy in Abovyan town, which is not far from his or her residence and Yerevan.

We hope that the recognised and respected media outlet will take the considerations of the Ministry of Justice into account in order to prevent similar inaccuracies in the future.