Path of Law

David Grigoryan’s First Court Hearing Against SJC Member Liparit Melikjanyan Took Place

Today, on May 18, the first court hearing on the case of defamation of Judge Davit Grigoryan against member of theSupreme Judicial Council (“SJC”) Liparit Melikjanyan was held in the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan. The interests of the plaintiff were represented by Siranush Sahakyan and Ruben Melikyan, co-founders of the Path of Law, NGO, taking into account the great interest of the case from the point of view of the development of law. The strategic importance of the case is that certain remarks, considered as slanderous by the plaintiff, were made:

(1) in relation to a judge;

(2) by an official with a constitutional mission to guarantee the independence of judges.

The plaintiff expects that as a result of this case, the legal protection of judges will be increased by recognizing and applying the following legal criteria:

• Officials with a constitutional mission to guarantee the independence of judges (primarily members of the SJC) should exercise even greater restraint in making factual and evaluative judgments on judges.

• An official with a constitutional mission to guarantee the independence of judges, even if he claims that he did not mean a particular judge, but there are objective grounds to the contrary, the court must establish the fact of defamation and apply its legal consequences.

The next court hearing is scheduled for June 25.