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International Conference of the Memorandum Group of the Associations of Judges in Yerevan

Published: July 17, 2014

The opening of the conference. From right to left: Vice-Minister of Justice A. Mkrtchyan, the President of the Armenian Court of Cassation A.Mkrtumyan, the Chairman of the Armenian Association of Judges H.Sargsyan and the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Armenia, R. Morell

The opening of the conference. From right to left: Vice-Minister of Justice A. Mkrtchyan, the President of the Armenian Court of Cassation A.Mkrtumyan, the Chairman of the Armenian Association of Judges H.Sargsyan and the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Armenia, R. Morell

This year's meeting of the "Memorandum Group of the Associations of Judges" took place in Yerevan, Armenia, from 29 June to 1 July 2014. It was the fourth conference of the Memorandum Group, a federation of associations of judges from different countries for multilateral cooperation, which has been supported by the IRZ since its foundation in 2010. The theme of this year's conference was the independence of the judiciary. The representatives of the associations of judges came to the conference in Armenia from Armenia, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Poland and Ukraine. The Senior Public Prosecutor Dr Peter Schneiderhan, Member of the Executive Committee of the German Association of Judges, as well as Dr Helmut Palder, former Leitender Ministerialrat in the State Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection of Bavaria and Member of the German Association of Judges, participated in the conference from the German side. Their contributions on the special situation of the independence of the judiciary in Germany as well as on the importance of a sound training of judges in terms of an independent judiciary were well received. Controversial debates evolved in the context of the contributions from Armenia and the Republic of Moldova. An open and lively discussion was also triggered by the questions raised by the Vice-President of the International Association of Judges, Dr Virgilius Valancius.

The conference was opened by the Chairman of the Armenian Association of Judges, Mr Hrachik Sargsyan, as well as by the President of the Armenian Court of Cassation, Mr Arman Mkrtumyan. Welcome addresses were also given by the Armenian Deputy Minister of Justice, Mr Arsen Mkrtchyan, and the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Armenia, Mr Reiner Morell.

The Memorandum Group also met on the sidelines of the conference to discuss the further development and the future orientation of the Group. It agreed, among other things, to hold the next conference in the Republic of Moldova in 2015.