Component 1: Supporting the civil justice reform - enhancing the independence, efficiency and quality of the judiciary

 Implementation of judicial reforms

Component 1: Supporting the civil justice reform - enhancing the independence, efficiency and quality of the judiciary.

Duration: 36 months.  The project runs from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021.

The Council of Europe is implementing this project under the “European Union/Council of Europe Partnership for Good Governance”.

• Ministry of Justice
• Judiciary
• Justice Academy
• Parliament
• Supreme Judicial Council and other judicial governing organisations
• judges
• advocates
• mediators
• arbitrators
• court users and the public at large

To further promote judicial independence, the effectiveness of legal proceedings and access to justice in Armenia by providing legal drafting support to the post constitution justice reform processes in the fields of justice, judiciary and disciplinary frameworks, as well as by enhancing the application of mediation and arbitration in accordance with Council of Europe standards and recommendations.

• further implementation of the CoE standards and best practices of the Member States on the independence, impartiality, efficiency and quality of the judiciary;
• increasing the role and efficiency of the work of the Judicial Self Governing Bodies to ensure the independence of courts and judges;
• low level of practical application of arbitration and mediation as alternative dispute resolution methods.

1.  National legal acts on the judiciary are developed, revised and implemented in line with Council of Europe standards

Aim of the component: to provide advice and support to the Armenian authorities in developing national legislation on functioning of the judiciary, including through the provision of expertise/assessments/opinions/recommendations.

2. The transparency and efficiency of the work of the Judicial Self-governing Bodies, namely the newly established Supreme Judicial Council and the General Assembly of Judges is enhanced with the support of the Project

Aim of the component: to support with the development of internal procedures and institutional capacities of the judicial Self-governing bodies in compliance with the Council of Europe standards, recommendations and best practices.

3. Equal access to justice and legal certainty is enhanced and the efficiency of the performance and management of the courts are improved in line with the Council of Europe standards

Aim of the component: to support the mechanisms allowing a more effective access to justice for vulnerable groups; to support with the development of court management tools and the application of the CEPEJ efficiency and quality measurement tools; to increase the awareness of court users about their rights and obligations, as well as the rights and obligations of judges, prosecutors, advocates and other parties of the case.

4. Practical application of arbitration and mediation in Armenia is improved in order to facilitate access to justice and for the benefit of the public, the reduction of the backlog of cases and the overall economic growth.

Aim of the component: to support Armenian authorities in developing and improving the national legislation on and practical application of alternative dispute resolution; to enhance the dialogue between judges and mediators/arbitrators; to raise the awareness of the general public about the alternative dispute resolution methods.