+Analysis of Draft Judicial Code for Armenia - American Bar

304 Pages·2006·2.23 MB·English

CENTRAL EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN LAW INITIATIVE
RESEARCH AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

ANALYSIS OF THE DRAFT JUDICIAL CODE FOR
THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

CEELI Legal Assessment Series
June 28th, 2006

Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI)
740 15th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005-1022
<www.abaceeli.org>

The statements and analysis contained herein are the work of the American Bar Association’s Central European and
Eurasian Law Initiative, which is solely responsible for its content. The views expressed herein have not been approved
by the House of Delegates or the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association and, accordingly, should not be
construed as representing the policy of the American Bar Association. Furthermore, nothing contained in this report is to
be considered rendering legal advice for specific cases, and readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their
own legal counsel.

This publication was made possible through support provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development, under
the terms of Cooperative Agreement No. 111-A-00-00-00067-00. The opinions expressed herein are those of the
author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Research performed on Westlaw courtesy of West Group.

©2006 American Bar Association. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.

Analysis of the Draft Judicial Code for the Republic of
Armenia

Table of Contents
Analysis of the Draft Judicial Code for the Republic of Armenia...............................1
I. Introduction and General Assessment..................................................................1
II. International and Regional Standards....................................................................2
III. Organization of the Draft Code.............................................................................4
IV. Definitions...................................................................................................................5
V. Judicial Independence................................................................................................6
A. General Remarks............................................................................................6
B. Budgetary Autonomy....................................................................................7
VI. Organization of the Court System.........................................................................8
A. General Remarks............................................................................................8
B. Cassation Court.............................................................................................9
C. Administrative Court....................................................................................9
VII. Self-Governance Bodies of the Judicial Authority............................................10
A. General Remarks..........................................................................................10
B. Council of Justice.........................................................................................11
C. Concluding Remarks ...................................................................................13
VIII. Adjudication of Cases.............................................................................................14
A. Role of Judicial Precedent..........................................................................14
B. Individual vs. Collective Hearing of Cases..............................................14
C. Contempt Powers........................................................................................15
D. Other Issues..................................................................................................15
IX. Appellate Courts and Procedures.......................................................................15
A. Limitations on the Right to Appeal..........................................................16
B. Grounds for Appeal.....................................................................................16
C. Appeals by Non-Parties..............................................................................16
D. Statute of Limitations for Appeals............................................................17
E. Interlocutory Appeals .................................................................................17
F. Issues...............................................................................................................18
X. Transparency of the Judiciary................................................................................18
A. Trial Publicity................................................................................................18
B. Transparency of Court Decisions............................................................19
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ii AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION—CENTRAL EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN LAW INITIATIVE
XI. Professional Conduct and Ethics of Judges........................................................20
A. Code of Judicial Ethics ................................................................................20
B. Judicial Impartiality, Integrity, and Propriety..........................................22
C. Political Activity of Judges..........................................................................23
D. Involvement in Extra-Judicial Activities...................................................23
E. Gifts.................................................................................................................24
F. Disqualification/Recusal of Judges.............................................................25
G. Duty of Confidentiality...............................................................................26
H. Applicability of Certain Rules to Judicial Candidates...........................26
I. Other Issues..................................................................................................26
XII. Selection and Appointment of Judges.................................................................27
A. General Remarks..........................................................................................27
B. Judicial Competence and Examinations...................................................29
C. List of Judicial Candidates...........................................................................30
XIII. Magistrates School...................................................................................................30
A. General Remarks..........................................................................................30
B. Purpose and Functions of the School......................................................31
C. Governance of the School.........................................................................31
D. Executive Director of the School.............................................................32
E. Faculty and Curriculum Development.....................................................33
F. Financing of the School...............................................................................34
XIV. Conditions of Service and Advancement of Judges..........................................34
A. Guaranteed Tenure.....................................................................................34
B. Career Advancement..................................................................................35
C. Compensation...............................................................................................36
D. Personal Files of Judges...............................................................................36
XV. Judicial Immunity......................................................................................................36
XVI. Removal and Discipline of Judges.........................................................................38
A. General Remarks..........................................................................................38
B. Discipline and Removal Grounds.............................................................39
C. Due Process Guarantees in Judicial Discipline and Removal..............40
XVII. Judicial Department and Court Support Personnel.........................................41
A. Judicial Department.....................................................................................41
B. Conditions of Service for Judicial Servants.............................................42
XVIII. Conclusion................................................................................................................44
ANALYSIS OF THE DRAFT JUDICIAL CODE FOR THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA iii
Biographical Statements of Experts Assessing the Draft Code................Appendix A
UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary.......................Appendix B
The Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct..............................................Appendix C
CoE Recommendation No. R(94)12 on the Independence, Efficiency,
and Role of Judges.................................................................................Appendix D
European Charter on the Statute for Judges................................................Appendix E
CCJE Opinion No. 3 on the Principles and Rules Governing Judges’
Professional Conduct, in Particular Ethics, Incompatible
Behavior and Impartiality.......................................................................Appendix F
Courts Act for the Republic of Estonia........................................................Appendix G
Latvian Judicial Training Center 2003 Annual Report................................Appendix H
Draft Judicial Code for the Republic of Armenia..........................................Appendix I