YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, NOYAN TAPAN. At the constituent assembly of the All-Armenian Association of Lawyers held on September 20, the Council of the Association was elected. It is composed of about 40 Armenian lawyers from various countries, with Chairman of the RA Constitutional Court Gagik Harutyunian being elected Coordinator of the Council. The Association was set up at the conclusion of the first Pan-Armenian Forum of Lawyers on the sibject "Armenian Juridical Thought and the Challenges of the 21st Century" initiated by the Ministry of Diaspora. "Without creating a legal, social country, it is impossible to have a powerful and strong Armenia, and there cannot be a powerful Diaspora without a strong Homeland," Minister of Diaspora Ms. Hranush Hakobian stated. She said the legal system of Armenia is not perfect, there are system problems in need of solution, and the capacities of Diaspora lawyers will be useful for dealing with these problems. The minister reminded that the Forum of Armenian Architects was held in Yerevan in April 2009, and "no one should think that the forum took place and everything ended: the forum was just the beginning". It was announced that in particular, a tender for construction work at the site of the former Youth Palace in Yerevan has been announced, in which architects from various countries will take part. The minister also informed those present that an all-Armenian network of architects has already been founded. It is expected that the Armenian world will appear in the form of Persian, European, Russian, American and other districts at Expo 2010 Shanghai China: these districts are being designed in the online regime by Armenian architects from different countries. The UN has approved the project, expressing an intention to become one of its sponsors. In the words of Ms. Hakobian, the idea of gathering Armenian lawyers from numerous countries under one umbrella should be realized whole-heartedly. The Karabakh problem is one of the most important national problems, in whose solution the newly-created organization will engage. Without its settlement, the problem of the security of Armenia and Karakh cannot be solved. Among the key problems are also the recognition of the Armenian Genocide - along with its legal aspect, the relations between Armenia and Turkey, and the problem of registering Armenia's property abroad (in Jerusalem, India, Ethiopia, Singapore, Constantinople). Chairman of the RA Constitutional Court Gagik Harutyunian expressed a hope that the All-Armenian Association of Lawyers will not become yet another bureaucratic structure, and the wonderful idea will not be squandered. According to him, the structure should work by the principle of self-government: based on equal rights and equal responsibility, while the priorities on the agenda must be clarified by mutual agreement. G. Harutyunian proposed convening meetings as needed, every three years. Coordinator of the Association's Council proposed that the next meeting be held in Stepanakert and be dedicated to the Karabakh problem. He said that Armenian will be the official language, while Russian, English and French should be used as working languages. The financial activities of the structure must be transparent as required by the Armenian legislation. Its activities will be financed from the state budget as it aims to assist with the solution of state problems, also from investments of various organizations. The results of the discussions conducted in relation to professions were summarized at the sitting, particularly, educational issues were discussed at Law Faculty of Yerevan State University. The Dean Gagik Ghazinian presented the subjects taught at the faculty where special attention is paid to environmental protection. He addressed the Genocide problem which along with its political and emotional aspects has a legal aspect based on international laws. He also attached special importance to the opening of Armenian-Turkish border from the legal point of view (in addition to economic and emotional aspects), pointing out what can bring benefits and what can cause harm. In the opinion of the forum participants, such meetings should be held in future as well and involve larger groups. Dean Gagik Ghazinian noted that the discussions and the whole forum were of cognitive nature and he expressed a hope that the Association will function efficiently and professional debates will be more thematic. The participants called the discussions held at the RA Chamber of Advocates "sincere and practical". In particular, the necessity to prepare lawyers - experts in international business was pointed out. The participants expressed an opinion that a constructive debate had taken place regarding the problem of incorrect behavior of judges and prosecutors at trials. In connection with the issue of subjecting defence lawyers to criminal responsibility for leaving the courtroom in case of their resentment at the court's actions, Swiss lawyer Vigen Bayramian said that in Switzerland, the lawyer is subjected to disciplinary liability only, in case he (she) has not insulted the court. The participants expressed a wish that the website of the RA Chamber of Advocates would be made interactive.

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