The Council of Europe has been working closely with the Armenian authorities on the criminal justice reform through legislative, methodological, and capacity-building support since 2015.
Based on the legal expertise of the Council of Europe, conceptually new Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure were developed, reflecting both national policy priorities and international commitments. Both Codes adopted a year ago entered into force on 1 July 2022.The effective implementation of both Codes shall contribute to the enhancement of human rights within criminal proceedings. It shall also facilitate the execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights against Armenia that are under enhanced supervision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. In particular, those relate to the prohibition of torture, ill-treatment and the use of pre-trial detention such as Mushegh Saghatelyan group of cases, Virabyan group of cases, amongst others.
Following the adoption of the new Codes, the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice has initiated the development of two practical Guides on conceptual solutions and new principles of the new Codes. The Guides will serve to provide commentaries to facilitate the effective implementation of the new legislation. They explain the context, meaning, and interpretation of the key new provisions in the adopted legal acts. The Guides were prepared by the same national experts who were closely engaged in the drafting of the new Codes, thus, to ensure a professional and coherent interpretation of new legal provisions.
The national legal professionals of Armenia will be provided with the electronic copies of both Guides that can be accessed by following these links: New Criminal Code Guide, New Criminal Procedure Code Guide.
The development of the Guides was supported in the framework of the Project “Supporting the criminal justice reform and harmonising the application of the European standards in Armenia" funded within the European Union and Council of Europe Partnership for Good Governance.
