New Armenian Prosecutor General Pledges to Stick to Rule of Law

YEREVAN — Newly appointed Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtian promises to do everything to increase the public trust towards the prosecution system. He said it is a priority for him.

“I have repeatedly said in my speeches that to increase the trust towards the system is a priority. We will work day and night to justify the expectations”, he said in a statement.

He said making the prosecution’s work public, the common approaches, the predictability of decisions are also among his priorities. He said their main task will be to explain the public that the decisions are made exclusively by law.

The National Assembly voted overwhelmingly (97 to 3) on Thursday to appoint Davtian new prosecutor-general nominated by President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK). He will take up the post more than a month after the resignation of his predecessor, Gevorg Kostanian.

The resignation, which the 38-year-old Kostanian attributed to “health problems,” came just days after the end of a deadly standoff between Armenian security forces and opposition gunmen that seized a police station in Yerevan on July 17.

“I will stick to only one rule of the game: the laws of the Republic of Armenia.” Davtian told reporters before the vote.