Armenian lawyer seeks criminal charges against three judges over church rulings
Panorama
An Armenian lawyer says he will seek criminal proceedings against three judges over court decisions he claims unlawfully interfered in the internal affairs of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
In a statement posted on social media on Wednesday, Ara Zohrabyan said he plans to raise the issue of criminal liability against Hovhannes Melkonyan, Chairman of the Armavir Court of First Instance, as well as judges Sima Abovyan and Edgar Hovhannisyan, who is also a member of the Supreme Judicial Council.
Zohrabyan alleged that the judges’ actions may fall under Article 482 of Armenia’s Criminal Code, which envisages penalties of up to four years in prison for judges who knowingly issue unjust rulings motivated by personal or group interests.
The dispute concerns court decisions ordering the Armenian Apostolic Church and other parties to ensure that defrocked priests Stepan Asatryan and Aramayis Takhmazian be allowed to serve as spiritual pastors.
According to the lawyer, Melkonyan and Abovyan issued near-identical rulings in separate cases returning the claims of the two plaintiffs, which he said indicated coordinated action. He further argued that the decisions violated Armenia’s constitution as well as laws governing relations between the state and the Armenian Apostolic Church and on freedom of conscience and religious organizations.
Under Armenian law, the state recognizes the self-governance of the Armenian Apostolic Church within its ecclesiastical jurisdiction and does not interfere in its internal affairs, including the ordination, defrocking, appointment or dismissal of clergy, Zohrabyan said.
He contended that by obliging the church to facilitate the pastoral duties of individuals who had been defrocked under church canon law, the judges had intruded into matters reserved for ecclesiastical authority.
Zohrabyan described the rulings as legally unsustainable and said he would pursue accountability through appropriate legal channels.
