Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the international conference dedicated to the foundation day of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Armenia on the topic "Pursuing the traces of illegally acquired assets: criminal prosecution, property recovery and management of confiscated assets, strengthening the victim-centered approach in criminal justice".

The event was also attended by the President of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan, Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan, representatives of legislative and executive bodies, Director of the Directorate for Security, Integrity and the Rule of Law of the Council of Europe Hanne Juncher, heads of diplomatic missions accredited in the Republic of Armenia, as well as international experts.

The Prime Minister made a speech, congratulated those present on the occasion of the Prosecutor's Office Worker's Day and emphasized the importance of holding it in the format of an international conference. According to Nikol Pashinyan, this provides an opportunity to reflect on the activities of the Prosecutor's Office, as well as to exchange experience. "Law and justice are developing, and the more we are in contact with international community, the more effective we will be on the path to establishing justice and fairness in Armenia, let me say, making the national expectation a reality."

Referring to the topic of the conference, the system of confiscation of illegal property, the Prime Minister noted: “I want to use this opportunity to clarify an important, in my opinion, misunderstanding. There is a general perception, and the reasons for this perception are clear, that the system and institution of confiscation of illegal property is aimed at or operates in the context of the activities of former officials. But let me say that this is a misunderstanding, because the system of confiscation of illegal property is actually one of the most important tools and methods of the current anti-corruption struggle, so that incumbent officials receive the signal that unhealthy and illegal attention to property has no prospects, because from this moment it should be predictable what it will bring and what it will lead to. And in this regard, the institution of confiscation of illegal property, for the full implementation of which, of course, both the people and the Government are a little impatient, is one of the very important pillars of anti-corruption policy, the Government and the ruling majority.”

The Prime Minister considered it a worrying fact that anti-corruption policies, including international ratings, are in a certain stage of stagnation and emphasized: “We cannot accept this in any way, because it is of principle for us to record constant, principled and consistent progress in the field of anti-corruption policy. I have had the opportunity to say, and now I want to emphasize again, that the Government to be formed and the parliamentary majority consider restarting or updating the entire package of democratic reforms, to put it mildly, a priority, and this is very important for us.”

In this context, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the need to formulate a clear public consensus in cooperation with colleagues on what justice and fairness are. “I notice and feel that there is no public consensus in our reality, there is no public or state slogan or message on what justice and fairness are. In my opinion, justice and fairness are considered only and exclusively in the context of legitimacy, because what is most consistent with legitimacy is most consistent with fairness and fairness. The most important provision following this is that there is one source of legitimacy and that source is the sovereign, the people of the Republic of Armenia. And justice and fairness cannot be separated from legitimacy at the institutional level,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

Nikol Pashinyan added that this problem exists in our legal mentality, social psychology: justice and fairness have a gap with legitimacy, that is, with the people. According to the Prime Minister, not the perceptions and desires of the people should automatically express themselves in the form of justice and fairness, but the institutions of justice and fairness, the desires of the people should be limited by law, by the protection of interests. However, according to Nikol Pashinyan, in reality, this formula has not been implemented in Armenia. "We must pursue the solution of these tasks in two directions. First, by fully establishing the legitimacy of our constitutional order. That is, a constitutional order that was established by the free expression of the people's will. And second, we need serious reforms and changes in the field of law and legal education."

In that context, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the development of legal and legal education in Armenia, in line with the logics happening in the world and in Armenia. The Prime Minister also emphasized the need to provide answers to the people's questions regarding justice. "In my opinion, in order to establish fairness and justice in Armenia, we have solved all the issues or at least the majority of the issues that were put before the Government. And we also solved it by constantly explaining to the people that we make all these decisions in difficult socio-economic conditions, not for the officials, but for the people, so that the people can see the result, see that there is justice and fairness in Armenia. And today, sorry, in my opinion, justice or fairness in the Republic of Armenia is available to the elites, only the elites, those who have money, those who have connections, those who have stories invisible to us, and this is a serious fundamental problem. We must address that problem, there is no other option," said the Prime Minister, adding that we must clearly face this problem.

The Prime Minister also emphasized the need to provide answers to the people's questions about justice. "In my opinion, in order to establish justice and fairness in Armenia, in fact, we have resolved all the issues, or at least the majority of the issues, that were put before the Government. And we have also resolved them by constantly explaining to the people that in difficult socio-economic conditions we are making all these decisions not for officials, but for the people, so that the people can see the result, see that there is justice and fairness in Armenia. And today, excuse me, in my opinion, justice or fairness in the Republic of Armenia is available to the elites, only to the elites, those who have money, those who have connections, those who have stories that are invisible to us, and this is a serious fundamental problem. We must address this problem, there is no other option," the head of state said, adding that we must clearly confront this issue.

According to the Prime Minister, the pre-election campaign and the elections have formulated questions, and the judicial system does not have much time to answer them. "If there are no concrete answers to these questions for a long time, it means that the judicial system of Armenia is sabotaging the answer to these questions. This is already a political situation, and this political situation must be addressed through political means. And on the other hand, I believe, I hope that during this period, this understanding has formed a fairly reliable support in the judicial system of the Republic of Armenia."

Nikol Pashinyan also noted that the important thing is that the process has not reached a deadlock and expressed hope that, including during today's discussions, with the support of international partners, ways out will be found. In this context, the Prime Minister also emphasized that the process should not deviate from the country's international obligations.

Prime Minister Pashinyan once again congratulated all employees of the Prosecutor's Office on the occasion of their professional day and thanked them for the work done. In conclusion, Nikol Pashinyan expressed his support for all prosecutors who consider themselves the ones who have the agenda of establishing justice and fairness in the Republic of Armenia, in accordance with the logic that, among other things, fairness and justice must stem from legitimacy, from the sovereign, which is the people of the Republic of Armenia.