In 2018, the transitional justice is on the agenda in Armenia. The surveys show that the transitional justice processes are closely related to the public and political stability, and in this context the structural support to the civil, judicial-legal and political institutions of Armenia is desirable. The Professor of Political Science of the U.S. Nevada University, Armenian by his origin Nerses Kopalyan said about this during the academic round-table debate titled Legal Approximation to the EU Value-Based Acquis.
He highlighted the process of the judicial-legal system reforms in Armenia. According to Nerses Kopalyan, this course will have essential influence on the development of the institutional capacities of ensuring the professional quality of the Staff.
On the initiative of the Strengthening the capacity of the National Assembly of Armenia to further support Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) oversight and implementation Twinning Project financed by the European Union, the Jean Monnet Module “Legal Approximation Laboratory” Brusov State University, the employees of the NA Staff, the experts of the NA Committees, the students and the lecturers from different higher educational institutions took part in the seminar held in parliament on 14 July.
The aim of the roundtable was to present the most recent developments in theory and practice of the rule of law implementation in the EU and Eastern Partnership countries with the participation of the specialists of international recognition in the sphere of law and political science, as well as to build a dialogue between the National Assembly and the academic community.
The key topic was Legal Approximation with EU value-based acquis: Implementation of the EU-Armenia CEPA aimed at ensuring the rule of law, (European experience and the role of parliaments).
Dr. Anna Khvorostiankina, Coordinator of the Jean Monnet Module “Legal Approximation Laboratory" introduced the concept of the rule of law and presented its history and role in the context of EU-Armenia relations.
Vassilis Hatzopoulos, Professor at the Pantheon University of Athens, spoke about the supremacy of law in the EU, and the fundamental values of the European legal system. “The rule of law is a key one in the EU, which is very important for Armenia. We have been working in the EU on the rule of law for several decades, and the work still continue. The concept of the rule of law develops in consonance with our judicial and political reality,” Professor Vassilis Hatzopoulos said.
Professor Antonia Baraggia from the University of Milan addressed the crisis of rule of law, presenting the examples of Poland and Hungary. While Dr. Mihai-Razvan Corman presented the supremacy of law in relations between associations and candidates, using the experience of Moldova as an example.