The Project “Support to the Justice Reform in Armenia’’ held its first Technical Project Committee meeting on 6 April in Yerevan, Armenia. The Project is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe within the framework of the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG III) and is implemented by the Council of Europe. The new Project is the logical continuation of two Components of the PGG II Project “Implementation of judicial reforms’’ which documented significant achievements during its lifetime - from January 2019 till February 2023.

The new PGG III Project “Support to the Justice Reform in Armenia’’ is a three-year initiative having an objective to ensure that general public in Armenia enjoy their rights in line with the European standards and benefit from accountable and professional justice system. The main partners of the Project are the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Judicial Council, the Constitutional Court, the Court of Cassation, the Judicial Self-governing Bodies, the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Office of the Human Rights Defender.

The First Meeting of the Technical Project Committee was opened and co-chaired by Lilit Daneghian-Bossler, Deputy Head of Co-operation Programmes Division of the Council of Europe, and Irina Movsesyan, International Aid/Cooperation Officer of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia. “The Council of Europe remains committed to further support Armenia with the implementation of the Judicial and Legal Reforms Strategy for 2022-2026, undoubtedly one of the most important reforms that a country may decide to undertake”, Lilit Daneghian-Bossler stressed in her opening remarks.

During the meeting, the Project team presented the main outcomes and the activities that will be implemented in the two main areas of the Project. In particular, the Project aims to support Armenian authorities to further advance the reform of the judicial system by strengthening its independence, accountability, and professionalism. It also aims to aid Armenian authorities to ensure effective implementation of the new criminal justice legislation in line with the European human rights standards.

The members of the Technical Project Committee, representing the main partners of the Project, provided valuable feedback and suggestions, which will be considered for further reflection in the Work Plans of the Project.