At its Human Rights meeting on 2 to 4 December, the Committee of Ministers closed the supervision of the execution of the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in Mnatsakanyan v. Armenia. This case concerned the premature dismissal of a judge following disciplinary proceedings against him, and the applicant’s inability to have recourse to judicial review of the decision of the Council of Justice recommending his dismissal. The European Court held that no weighty reasons justified the absence of judicial review of the Council of Justice’s decisions, which were non-binding and, hence, did not constitute the exercise of a judicial function. The Court concluded, therefore, that the very essence of the applicant’s right of access to court had been impaired.
Following constitutional reforms in 2015, a new independent state body responsible for disciplinary proceedings in the judiciary was created, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). Under the current Constitution, the SCJ is mandated to guarantee the independence of the courts; its decisions are binding and final. In the recent judgment Suren Antonyan v. Armenia, the European Court found that the SJC meets the requirements for an independent tribunal under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention. It observed that in contrast to the pre-2015 Council of Justice, the SJC has exclusive competence and full jurisdiction over matters pertaining to disciplinary liability of judges, and is acting as a “court” for these purposes.
