The “Fact” daily writes:
Recent trends in Armenia’s political discourse indicate a dangerous blurring of the line between the fundamental principles of a legal state and political rhetoric. The proposal of David Ghazinyan, a deputy from the largest opposition “Strong Armenia” faction, to dissolve the judicial system and determine punishments at the sessions of the Criminal Procedure Code, although formulated with bitter humor, vividly reflects a serious systemic problem in the public and political field. The presumption of innocence guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and the European Convention on Human Rights implies that no person can be publicly labeled as a criminal unless there is a legally binding court verdict.
However, in politically sensitive cases, including those of His Holiness Bagrat and other figures, the descriptions of terrorists, corruptors, or robbers uttered by high-ranking officials form a prejudiced attitude among the public and directly put pressure on investigative and judicial bodies.
In essence, such a style of behavior throws Armenia onto the agenda of forming trials in the style of Soviet troikas, because judicial processes become formal.
When arrests can be made without a real legal process on the direct instructions of the country's ruling power or its leader, and a person can be charged with a crime simply to serve the wishes of the country's leader, then not only does the judicial system lose legitimacy, but it also simply begins to operate according to the logic of the Soviet "troikas". All this leads to the neutralization of the independence of the courts, when, in the conditions of biased statements by representatives of the executive and legislative branches, judges find themselves faced with the dilemma of political guidance and public pressure.
The decline in trust in the justice system leads to the weakening of the foundations of the rule of law, where the rule of law is replaced by political expediency. It is obvious that there is a deep crisis in the legal system, which requires immediate attention. Restraint in political rhetoric and unconditional preservation of the presumption of innocence are an inseparable prerequisite for the viability of any democratic state.
