The newspaper “Past” reported on an interesting and important decision made by the Supreme Judicial Council on March 20. Legal experts have found this decision regarding the appointment of Former President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia, Gagik Harutyunyan, to be significant. He offered the position of judge to Former President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan. However, this decision has raised several questions, especially regarding its similarity to a decision made for the Criminal Court.

It is important to note that when examining the decision of the Criminal Court, two different court judges appealed to the Constitutional Court, asking to change their positions. This appeal was based on Article 120 of the Criminal Code. However, the decision does not clearly state whether their request will be considered until the end of the trial. Therefore, it would be better to analyze the decision from another judge’s perspective.

According to our information, the accusation against Gagik Harutyunyan is not clear, and this uncertainty may lead the judge to make an unfavorable decision based on his actions. The defendant’s defense argues that Gagik Harutyunyan’s health condition is hindering him from attending the trial. This has caused tension, as Gagik Harutyunyan has been unable to attend the trial in the Syunik Court for three months and lacks the opportunity to familiarize himself with the court proceedings. This raises the question of whether the trial can be transferred to another judge who can have a clearer perspective on the decision.

Yesterday’s decision from the Criminal Court not only changed the Yerevan and Ararat courts, or the judges of the Yerevan and Syunik Courts, but also proposed transferring the judge of the Ararat Court to Yerevan, and the judge of Yerevan to the Syunik Court. Additionally, the judge of the Ararat Court, Vahé Jivanian, “confirms” his position in the Yerevan General Jurisdiction Court based on this decision. The implications for Arthur Mkrtchyan are still unclear, but it is evident that he cannot take certain actions until the trial is concluded.

As of now, President Vahagn Khachatryan has not signed the decision regarding the transfer of judges. It remains uncertain whether the President of the Republic has the authority to carry out specific activities in any case.