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The adoption of the draft is conditioned by the necessity of reviewing the system of remuneration being given to the judges of the judges of the first instance and stems from the fact of providing attractiveness for guaranteeing the judges’ independence, as well as replenishing the existing vacancy posts of the judges of the courts of the first instance. During the NA plenary sitting the Deputy Minister of Justice Levon Balyan said this, presenting in the first reading to the parliamentarians the draft law on Making Addenda to the Law on Remuneration of the Persons Holding State Positions and State Service Positions.

According to the rapporteur, as a logic continuity of the mentioned amendments, it is necessary also to review the amount of the remuneration of the judges of the courts of the first instance bearing a great burden of overloading in the judicial system, and in that context, it is proposed by the draft to set 60% surcharge on January 1, 2024 for the judges of the Court of General Jurisdiction of First Instance, Court of Bankruptcy and Administrative Court, providing the remuneration corresponding to the judge’s high status and responsibility.

The deputy of the Civil Contract Faction Arusyak Julhakyan inquired about the number of the judges being beneficiary of the draft and how much expenditure implies the adoption of the draft.

“The law will enforce will spread on 206 judges: they comprise more than 66% of the judicial system. The draft will cause 1billion 400 AMD loading on the budget by approximate calculation.

The member of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs Lilit Minasyan presented the co-report of the draft. The MP informed that it was debated at the beginning of the year within the framework of the judicial-legal reforms.

“Within the framework of the strategy for 2022-2026 the salaries of the judges of the Anti-Corruption Court, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation. The amendment will provide involvement of qualified specialists in the instance of the courts of first instance. Every judge of the first instance examines annually 2000 judicial cases,” the MP noted and added that Committee endorsed the draft in the first reading.

“The increase of the incomes of the first instance judges is one of our changes of judicial=legal reforms, which also should be directed to the recuperation of the judicial system. In case of the current salaries, the outflow of employees takes place. In the event of such loading, work requiring high responsibility and low payment, the judges prefer to move to the private sector, to have high income and little loading. It is important to provide dignified payment for stopping the specialists’ outflow and engaging good specialists in the system,” Arusyak Julhakyan said during the exchange of ideas and called her colleagues to vote for the draft law.