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Successful Continuation of Criminal Law Moot Courts in Armenia

Published: November 4, 2019
Nelly Tumasyan, IRZ project coordinator in Armenia, and members of the jury Erich Joester, Vazgen Rshtuni, Mkhitar Papoyan, Armine Fanyan and Arsen Martirosyan (from left to right)
Nelly Tumasyan, IRZ project coordinator in Armenia, and members of the jury Erich Joester, Vazgen Rshtuni, Mkhitar Papoyan, Armine Fanyan and Arsen Martirosyan (from left to right)
Armenia

A Criminal Law Moot Court took place from 4th to 6th October 2019 in Aghveran in Armenia for the fourth time since 2016. This very successful annual event is organised by the IRZ in partnership with the Law Faculty of the University of Yerevan. The event was attended by students of the State Universities of Yerevan, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Gavar and by two groups of the Armenian police academy.

Up to six groups take part in the Moot Courts each consisting of up to four persons. A trainer is in charge of each group. Students of Armenian universities and representatives of other organisations can apply for participation in a Moot Court. This year, they came from the police academy. The Moot Court comprises six role plays in total, after which the two winning groups compete against each other in the finals.

This year’s event was opened by the Dean of the Law Faculty of the State University of Yerevan, Prof. Gagik Ghazinyan, and Amalia Wuckert representing the IRZ. Subsequently, Anna R. Margaryan, Professor for Criminal Law at the Law Faculty of the State University of Yerevan, explained how the Moot Court works.

The performance of the participants was assessed by an Armenian-German jury:

  • Vazgen Rshtuni, President of the Court of Appeal of the Republic of Armenia,
  • Mkhitar Papoyan, Judge at the Court of Appeal of the Republic of Armenia,
  • Armine Fanyan, a lawyer representing the Bar Association of the Republic of Armenia,
  • Arsen Martirosyan, Head of Department at the Office of the Public Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia and
  • Erich Joester, a lawyer and notary specialising in criminal law, Joester und Partner law firm, and former President of the Bar Association of Bremen.

After the results of this year’s Moot Court were announced, a prize was awarded. The ceremony was attended by the ombudsman of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, the Vice-Principal for International Cooperation and Public Relations of the State University of Yerevan, Dr. Artur Israelyan, the Director of the School of Advocates, Simon Babayan, and the Principal of the Judicial Academy, Sergej Arakelyan. There presence highlighted the great popularity of the Moot Court events in Armenia.

As the representatives of the involved institutions emphasized the importance of the Moot Courts for Armenia, the IRZ is planning to continue the series of Moot Courts next year.