The EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance is supporting the Corruption Prevention Commission (CPC) in developing its own methodology for the integrity checking of judicial nominees.

According to the amendments to the law on the Corruption Prevention Commission (CPC) and Judicial Code of the Republic of Armenia, a new system of integrity checking for judicial nominees is required.

In order to provide the sharpest and most relevant assistance, within the short timeframe for the CPC to initiate the integrity checking process, and given the constraints related to the Covid-19 pandemic, a series of online videoconferences were organised with the participation of the Council of Europe secretariat, Council of Europe experts, CPC members and representatives of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, between May and August 2020.

Based on these substantive exchanges and feedback from national authorities, a detailed Technical Paper on “Integrity Checking of Judicial Nominees in the Republic of Armenia” was elaborated by the project. The paper identifies and recommends possible steps, sources and criteria for the implementation of the different types of integrity checks, describes available forms of cooperation with other institutions to strengthen the efficiency of integrity checks, and provides guidance on the form, content and impact of the advisory opinion that the CPC is requested to issue on the basis of the integrity checking.

The recommendations provided in the paper aim at securing the efficiency of the CPC while safeguarding judicial independence, in compliance with the Council of Europe standards. The paper draws on the experience of a number of European countries that have introduced various forms of integrity screening. While building on the latter, the combination of the expertise provided by the Council of Europe and the rich discussions with the Armenian authorities on their own vision and role in the promotion of integrity in the country is resulting in a unique, Armenia-specific approach and methodology for integrity checking.

The project will continue to support the Corruption Prevention Commission in the ongoing integrity checking process.

This support is provided within the framework of the EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance II Project on “Strengthening institutional capacities to fight and prevent corruption in Armenia” (PGGII-ARM) which is funded jointly by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.