Dataxazutyun

The relations of the RA General Prosecutor's Office with the General Prosecutor's Offices of other republics as well as with the international organizations are determined by the International Agreements of the Republic of Armenia. The international and legal activity of the RA General Prosecutor's Office is carried out in the following way

- organizing the international cooperation in the framework of Commonwealth of Independent States

- organizing the international cooperation with the Council of Europe, OSCE, UN and other international organizations

- cooperation in the sphere of the provision of legal assistance, extradition of criminals and transfer of sentenced persons.

Every year the number of document circulation in this sphere increases. The following number states the quantitative growth of documents. That is

2005-659
2006-863
2007-850
2008-950
2009-893, based on which the circulation of 3357 documents was implemented
2010-2435, based on which the circulation of 4685 documents was implemented

The RA General Prosecutor's Office carries out an enormous work directed towards the protection of human rights, the implementation of the programs developed by the Council of Europe and legal reforms after Armenia became a member of the Council of Europe in 2002 and the European Conventions on “On mutual legal assistance in criminal cases”, “On Extradition”, “The Transfer of Proceedings in Criminal Matters”, “For the Protection of Human Rights and fundamental freedoms” and “Transfer of Sentenced persons” were ratified.

The RA General Prosecutor’s Office within its competence also participates in the timely preparation of the RA Government’s position after studying the appeals filed to the European Court of Human Rights against Armenia by making objections and remarks on the raised issues.

About the activities of the RA General Prosecutor’s Office in the sphere of the extradition of criminals
In the territory of Armenia the inquiries on the provision of legal assistance are implemented according to the law, especially if it refers to the detection and arrest of the person who should be extradited. The extradition is carried out based on the interaction of international and national legislation.

The inquiries on extradition of persons to call to criminal liability are regulated by the international treaties, in particular by the European Conventions on “On Extradition” 1957 and “The Transfer of Proceedings in Criminal Matters” 1972 and the Minsk Convention on “On legal assistance and legal relations in civil, family and criminal cases” 1993 as well as a number of bilateral agreements signed between the CIS member states which regulate this sphere.

On October 7, 2002 the CIS member states signed the Convention “On legal assistance and legal relations in civil, family and criminal cases” in Kishinev in order to create new mechanisms for settling the issues on criminal cases, especially on the extradition of the criminals. So far the Convention has been ratified by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. At present, for the ratification of the Convention, internal procedures are implemented in the Russian Federation. There are significant complications during the cooperation with other countries on the issues of extradition as the legal systems are different and there is a lack of common activity concerning the extradition procedure.

It was offered to discuss “The problem of granting of citizenship by the foreign counties to the persons, wanted by the Law Enforcement Bodies ” studied by the Intenational and Legal Relations Division of the RA General Prosecutor's Office at the next session of the Coordinating Council of Prosecutors General of CIS Member States and as this issue mainly relates to the General Prosecutor’s Offices of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia, it was accepted by the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation in order to exclude such practice in the future.

In 2006 the condition of the “The practice of providing the legal assistance in criminal cases and the prosecutorial supervision in this sphere”and the issues on “The practice of providing the legal assistance, the supervision of the legality of preliminary investigation and presenting cases for the prosecution in court in trafficking and related cases during the period from 2005 and 6 months of 2006 year”were examined and summarized.

In 2007, within the section of the working program, the issues on “The practice of fulfillment of the provisions concerning to scopes of prosecution of extradited to Armenian Law Enforcement Bodies persons during the period from 2005 and 2006 years ”and “The practice of transfer of sentenced persons and the prosecutorial supervision in this sphere during the 2005-2007 years”
were examined and summarized.

In 2008, within the section of the working program, the issues on “The prosecutorial supervision on legality of provisional detention for extradition wanted by the foreign Law Enforcement Bodies and located in Armenia persons in period from 2006-2007, as well as for 6 months of 2008” were examined and summarized.

In 2009 the issues on “The prosecutorial supervision over the preliminary investigation of the criminal cases initiated on the crimes committed by the citizens of foreign countries or against them in the territory of Armenia” were examined and summarized.

In 2010, within the second term of the working program, the issues on “The international and legal practice in Armenia and the prosecutorial supervision in this sphere from 2005 to the first term of 2010” were examined and summarized.

During the implementation of the study, correspondent requests were sent to the territorial sub-divisions of the RA General Prosecutor’s Office as well as to the General Investigation Department of the RA Police in order to have the complete picture of the study.

The received information was summed up by the division.

In 2005, 165 persons, 10 of them liable to be extradited, were detected and arrested in Armenia, and 63 persons wanted by the RA law enforcement bodies were detected in foreign countries and taken to Armenia.

In 2006, 180 persons, 6 of them liable to be extradited, were detected and arrested in Armenia, and 59 persons wanted by the RA law enforcement bodies were detected in foreign countries and taken to Armenia.

In 2007, 209 persons, 15 of them liable to be extradited, were detected and arrested in Armenia, and 62 persons wanted by the RA law enforcement bodies were detected in foreign countries and taken to Armenia.

In 2008, 169 persons, 10 of them liable to be extradited, were detected and arrested in Armenia, and 50 persons wanted by the RA law enforcement bodies were detected in foreign countries and taken to Armenia.

In 2009, 198 persons, 16 of them liable to be extradited, were detected and arrested in Armenia, and 57 persons wanted by the RA law enforcement bodies were detected in foreign countries and taken to Armenia.

In 2010, 165 persons, 10 of them liable to be extradited, were detected and arrested in Armenia, and 63 persons wanted by the RA law enforcement bodies were detected in foreign countries and taken to Armenia.

During the period of study 1000 persons wanted by the law enforcement bodies of foreign countries were detected in Armenia and 66 of them were extradited. 346 persons wanted by the RA law enforcement bodies were detected in foreign countries.

150 tasks to implement criminal pursuit were sent to the law enforcement bodies of foreign countries, 74 of which were criminal cases and 76 were materials.

185 tasks to implement criminal pursuit were received from the law enforcement bodies of foreign countries, 144 of which were criminal cases and 41 were materials.

605 mediations for legal assistance in the criminal cases were sent to the law enforcement bodies of foreign countries, 2017 ones were received from them.

The employees of the RA General Prosecutor’s Office participated in 197 events that is conferences, round-tables, discussions, etc, 161 of which were organized and held in Armenia, and 36 abroad.

The status of other persons in the procedure of the extradition of the RA citizens detected in Armenia still remains a problem. These persons are sentenced in absence according to the Article 247 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. Factually, they stay in Armenia as they cannot be extradited to the law enforcement bodies of countries on the basis of their citizenship. Insurmountable obstacles come across during the implementation of the sentences passed in absence in Armenia, as there is not an institute of sentencing somebody in absence according to the RA Legislation and which makes it impossible to conform and carry out the sentence passed in absence. In order to regulate this problem it was offered to the General Prosecutor of the Russian Federation to use part 2 of Article 8 of the European Convention on “The Transfer of Proceedings in Criminal Matters” against the RA citizens who escape punishment in the Russian Federation, according to which the sentence is transferred to the law enforcement body of the country where the person was detected and of which is the citizen. In answer to the suggestion made by the RA Prosecutor General, the General Prosecutor’s Office offered to use the second addition protocol to the European Convention on “Extradition” which was signed by Armenia on December 21, 2006 but has not been ratified yet.

A written statement was sent to the RA Ministry of Justice to speed up the process of the ratification of the second addition protocol to the mentioned European Convention.

The cases when a citizen of one country, wanted by another country, having no identification documents is detected in Armenia are problematic.

In thess cases, after satisfying the mediation on extraditing them to a foreign country in order to call them to criminal liability, it is factually impossible to extradite them as the person can pass the border of Armenia only with a identification document, that is a passport, and in the mentioned cases the extradited person does not have a passport.

In these cases, the competent bodies of the country of which the extradited person is the citizen, refuse to give him a identification document, by reasoning that it can be done only by the person’s wish and application to provide him a passport.

An example of unjustified refusal of the mediation on calling to criminal liability sent by the RA law enforcement bodies to a foreign country was the refusal of the competent bodies of the Kingdom of Malta to extradite A. Boyajyan. The latter was wanted on the suspicion of committing a crime according to the RA Criminal Code Article 178, part 3, point 1. The competent authorities of Malta refused to extradite him, stating that though Malta and Armenia signed the European Convention on “Extradition” in 1957, the Court of Malta has not recognized Armenia as a country with which they can carry out extradition. The RA General Prosecutor’s Office and the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs disputed this absurd decision stating that this refusal was not based on any international-legal document and it contradicts to the pacta sunt servanda principle of the Jus cogens of international law from which no exclusions can be made. Based on this the refusal was revised and the mediation is being discussed by the law enforcement bodied of Malta, but it is being delayed by different reasoning.

During the study a number of cases were revealed when were broken the terms of arrest of a person wanted by another country and detected in Armenia for extradition according to the part 4 of the Article 16 of the European Convention on “Extradition” and Article 62 of the Minsk Convention on “Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Cases”.

Another widespread problem was revealed that is when in foreign countries mostly in Russia criminal cases are initiated and search is announced against the citizens of foreign countries, including Armenia, and when, after not being found, their criminal cases are demanded, after a year of lasting correspondence indefinite answers are received, saying that the case corresponds to the requirements of the Minsk Convention and in the end they answer that the case will not be sent to Armenia or it has been terminated.

If the legal bases of cooperation with the European and CIS States are definite and sufficient, then we shoud highlight the legal cooperation with the US law enforcement bodies based on good will and mutuality.

The permanent and effective cooperation between the law enforcement bodies of the USA and Armenia express the existence of the principle of criminal responsibility and the provision of the inevitability of punishment. Though there isn’t any legal document for this sphere, by mutual agreement, many criminals were extradited to Armenia or were called to criminal liability in Armenia for the crimes committed in the USA.

The Letter of Agreement on Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Armenia signed on June 11, 2001 and already signed the twelfth amendment became a general purpose for the law enforcement bodies of both countries.
So far U.S. Government provided 14 million USD assistance to develop the potentials of the RA law enforcement bodies, in particular for the projects of a Resident Legal Adviser from the U.S. Department of Justice, Human Trafficking, a legal socialization project carried out by the NGO Project Harmony, the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative, development of law enforcement academies in Armenia, the Central Bank’s Financial Monitoring Center and the development of the the forensic laboratory of the National Academy of Sciences.

All the mentioned projects were implemented and the legal system of Armenia and the society gained from it.

The opening of the forensic laboratory of the National Academy of Sciences’ National Bureau of Expertises in the framework of the Letter of Agreement is noteworthy. At present, it is planned with the US Embassy to Armenia to open and develop a laboratory on legal genetic examination in particular on DNA identification.

Today, the National Bureau of Expertises by using the modern technologies and keeping the international standards carries out legal expertises in more than 28 directions for the legal and justice bodies. Each year it carries out more than 6000 expertises in the framework of the criminal procedure legislation and about 1000 expertises in the civil procedure administrative legislation. The Bureau cooperates with both the US and European leading expertise organizations and is the associated member of the Union of Europe’s Legal Expertise.

About 100 conferences on the “Criminal Justice and Human Rights” were organized for the judges, prosecutors as well as lawyers by the joint efforts of the Council of Europe, US State Department, OSCE and the Prosecutor’s School. This activity has been regulated and will be continued.

There is an active cooperation in the struggle against trafficking with the International Organization for Migration, NGOs and the Political Section of the US Embassy to Armenia.

As a result of active cooperation with the national and foreign law enforcement bodies, in the US State Department Report Armenia left the list of the second group of the special control countries and passed to the third group.

The international cooperation of the RA General Prosecutor’s Office is organized by setting relations with the General Prosecutor’s Offices of other countries, that is exchange of the delegations of specialists, conferences and seminars on legal and scientific issues, meetings of General Prosecutors, etc. The visits of the delegations headed by the Prosecutor General to Bratislava, Ljubljana, Celle, London, Seul, Moscow, Paris and Hong Kong to participate in the conferences of the International Association of Prosecutors were organized. The visits of the delegations headed by the General Prosecutors of Belarus, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Georgia and Russian Federation to Armenia were organized, during which the Memorandums on the cooperation between the General Prosecutor’s Offices were signed.

Memorandum on Cooperation between the General Prosecutor’s Offices of Armenia and the Russian Federation was signed on September 22, 2006 in Yerevan. On March 29, 2007 a Program of Cooperation during 2007-2009 was signed between the General Prosecutor’s Offices of Armenia and the Russian Federation in Moscow for the implementation of the Memorandum. Within the framework of the program, 7 meetings were organized in Armenia and the Russian Federation, in particular on the issues concerning the supervision over the punishments not connected with detention, the structure and responsibilities of the General Prosecutor’s Office, the prosecutorial and investigatory activity in the struggle against narcotic drugs, the trainings of the employees of the General Prosecutor’s Office, qualification improvement, etc.

After the implementation of 2007-2009 program, a new program on cooperation for 2010-2011 was signed on September 15, 2010 in Moscow. So far, only two meetings have been organized within this program on the issues of terrorism, the struggle against the organized transnational crime and illegal turnover of narcotic drugs. It is planned to organize two more meetings in the framework of the program.

From October 19 to 21, 2010 the 5th Plenary Meeting of the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors was organized and held in Yerevan. 60 prosecutors from 30 member-states of the CoE participated in the meeting. During the meeting the Yerevan Declaration on the role of public prosecution in juvenile justice, the CCPE Draft Opinion № 5 was adopted. The Head of the International-Legal Division of the RA General Prosecutor’s Office is the member of the working group of the the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors and is involved in the works of the CCPE Draft Opinion № 6 on the relations between the administrations of the RA General Prosecutor’s Office and the plenitentiaries. All the documents adopted by the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors are available in the section “International Cooperation” of the web-site of the RA General Prosecutor’s Office.

The RA General Prosecutor’s Office participated in the preparation of a number of documents by cooperating with the Coordinating Council of Prosecutors General of CIS Member States on settling the issues concerning the interstate cooperation in the struggle against the criminality.

On September 9, 2007, the session of the Coordinating Council of Prosecutors General of CIS Member States was held in Yerevan during which the issues on the election of the Head of the Coordinating Council (the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation), the struggle against trafficking, the cooperation on the field of the protection of the persons’ rights out of their countries, as well as issues on stating a general order for the registration of crimes were discussed.

The representatives of the RA General Prosecutor’s Office participate in the struggle against the international crimes that is terrorism, narcotic drugs, illegal turnover of arms, corruption and money laundering. It is noteworthy that the representatives of the RA General Prosecutor’s Office always participate in the Council of Europe’s committees on money laundering and the prevention of torture. The delegations headed by the Deputy Prosecutors participate in the annual meetings organized by the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities.