The European Parliament expresses concern about Nikol Pashinyan's appeal to block courts

Head of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee Sajjad Karim has issued a statement expressing concern about the appeal of Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinya to block courts.

“On 18 May, a court in Yerevan rules that Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharyan be released from prison pending the outcome of his trial.
Without prejudice to the principle of non-interference, we would like to express our concern regarding the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s call on his supporters to block the entrances to all courts nationwide on 20 May, and for a mandatory, popular ‘vetting’ to be applied on all judges.

We fully acknowledge that the politicization of judges is a matter of paramount importance in Armenia, and we count on the competent authorities, with the assistance on their international partners, to adopt and implement the structural reforms that are needed to ensure that a transparent and efficient judiciary, free from undue influences, will regain citizens’ trust, as it is a prerequisite for the rule of law.

Meanwhile, we urge all public office holders to show wisdom and restraint, as was the case throughout last year’s ‘velvet revolution’, act solely within the limits of the mandates vested upon them by the Constitution, and uphold the clear, indispensable devision between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of power,” the statement said.