Înapoi Integrity checking: Armenian experience, achievements, and prospects for improvement

Integrity checking: Armenian experience, achievements, and prospects for improvement

The project on “Strengthening institutional capacities to fight and prevent corruption in Armenia” continues supporting the Corruption Prevention Commission in developing and improving its methodology for integrity checking of judicial nominees.

The workshop on “Integrity checking: Armenian experience, achievements and prospects for improvement”, organised through joint efforts of the Corruption Prevention Commission and the Project, provided the opportunity to learn lessons from the first round of practical implementation of integrity checking of judicial nominees by the Armenian Corruption Prevention Commission, and suggest improvements to the methodology used, based on the feedback from different national authorities and international experts.

The members of the Commission and representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the General Prosecutor's Office, the Supreme Judicial Council, the National Assembly, as well as representatives and experts of international organizations took part in the discussion – which took place in-person in Yerevan with international participants connected online. 

The Chairperson of the Corruption Prevention Commission Haykuhi Harutyunyan presented the current integrity checking system for judicial nominees in Armenia (which is partly based on previous recommendations provided by the Project), the results of its implementation in 2020, and the practical challenges encountered in this process. International experts from different organisations provided feedback on the Armenian experience from the perspective of European and international standards and good practices. The other Armenian authorities present also shared their views on the importance of the Commission’s opinions on candidates’ integrity within their work and the role of this process in the improvement of the overall judicial system.

The importance of introducing an integrity checking system in Armenia, and the pioneering character of some of its features were highlighted in the workshop, and recommendations were made on further steps to ameliorate it for the following rounds. The Council of Europe will continue to support the Corruption Prevention Commission in refining and enhancing its methodology for the next phase of this exercise.

This activity was organised in the framework of the project “Strengthening institutional capacities to fight and prevent corruption in Armenia”, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II Programme.

Armenia 26 February 2021
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Strasbourg, France Strasbourg, 1-2 July 2024
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Addressing hate speech and hate crime: regional gathering of the network of Equality Bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership Region

A two-day workshop on addressing hate speech and hate crime took place at the premises of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, involving Equality bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership regions.  The event supported by the EU and Council of Europe, gathered 50 representatives from both regions who discussed and exchanged on the best practices, measures and common challenges when addressing hate speech and hate crime. Through monitoring and reporting, policy advocacy, raising awareness and supporting victims equality bodies play a fundamental role in protecting human rights and ensuring that all individuals are treated equally.

In her opening remarks, Angela Longo, Head of Anti-discrimination Co-operation Unit, Council of Europe, underlined the significant progress in engaging with Equality Bodies through this network, regularly exchanging best practices and addressing the challenges of hatred and intolerance in societies. She highlighted that this new chapter of discussion delves into the grey area between hate speech and hate crime, addressing issues of incitement and biases,

Representatives from Equality Bodies had the opportunity to discuss and enhance their knowledge on the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers Recommendation to member States on combating hate crime, adopted on 7th May 2024, as well as gain a clearer understanding of EU standards in the field of hate crime. Moreover, participants engaged in exchanges with peers from the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE), who shared insights on addressing hate speech in the public discourse. The National Office Against Racial Discrimination (UNAR) in Italy provided practical examples for developing counter-narratives and raising awareness initiatives.

They also explored opportunities to advocate for legislative reform, foster multisectoral co-operation, enhance data collection, and overall improve national mechanisms to counter hate crimes.

This seminar was organised within the action “Promoting equality and combating racism and intolerance in the Western Balkans” and the project “Promoting equality and non-discrimination: towards more resilient and inclusive societies” – co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe  under the joint Programmes “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” and “Partnership for Good Governance”.

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