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“This NA sitting, where I present myself to the Republic of Armenia and you as a candidate for judge of the Constitutional Court (CC), is another milestone in my decades of professional activity, which began when I was admitted to the Faculty of Law of YSU in 1985, and continued with 32 years of legal activity,” Seda Safaryan, the candidate for judge of the Constitutional Court, said.

The issue of the election of a CC judge was debated at the RA NA sitting convened on September 15. According to Articles 166 and 213 of the RA Constitution, the Government nominated Seda Safaryan for the position of judge of the Constitutional Court.

The RA Deputy Minister of Justice Grigor Minasyan presented the candidate’s biography and career path. “On June 30, the RA Government made a decision to nominate Seda Safaryan for the position of judge of the Constitutional Court, taking into account the fact that the term of office of Arevik Petrosyan, the judge of the same Court, will expire on December 10, 2022,” the Deputy Minister noted.

Seda Safaryan presented her activities, vision and ideas on the judicial system. According to her, one of the reasons for the current lack of the rule of law and social justice is the introduction of the worst traditions in the field of legal education, which has had a very negative impact on the legal perception and value system of the new generation.

Referring to the working style of the former authorities, the rapporteur noted that the latter adapted the legal system to their political interests. According to her, since 2018, the authorities have pursued the goal of becoming constitutional and democratic. Before that, there were illegalities, 20-year non-democratic governance, injustice of state institutions. According to Seda Safaryan, the formation of the judicial system in post-independent Armenia was not based on the legal regulation provided by the values of the Constitution, it had subjective elements of formation.

“When the judicial system deviated from its constitutional and democratic mission, it in its turn led to legal irresponsibility and lack of institutional control of the political power, which irreversibly crippled the entire system of checks and balances established by the Constitution,” the candidate said, emphasizing that the development of the right and the protection of human rights is possible only in the case of a conscientious, professional and non-politicized judiciary established by legal order.

Seda Safaryan highlighted the very system of the constitutional control, the connection between the Constitutional Court and the National Assembly.

The candidate answered the deputies’ questions, referred to the need to fight against the criminal subculture, the steps aimed at increasing the reputation of the CC.