Address of the President of the “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO

Dear Friends, Partners and Supporters,

With great pride and responsibility, I present to you the 2021 Annual Report (hereinafter referred to as the Report) on the activities of the “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO (hereinafter: the ALA), which summarizes the information about the organization’s activities, already implemented and current programs, organized discussions, prepared expert reports, financial report, etc. Taking into account and emphasizing the preservation of the principles of the organization’s activity, especially integrity before our beneficiaries, members, partners and donor organizations, we publish the annual report both for each year and with this we intend to publicize the annual report for 2021.

Throughout the past year, the structure continued its main activities, contributing to the development, modification and adoption of public policies in various areas of justice, rule of law, good governance, paying particular attention to the protection of human rights, as well as to the constitutional, anti-corruption and judicial system reforms.

With best regards and wishes,

Karen Zadoyan, Lawyer

President of the “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO

INTRODUCTION

The ALA was founded in 1995 in Yerevan. During the years of its activities the organization always enjoyed the trust of the public and was a reliable partner among the associates. Having defined values, mission, vision, developed strategic action plan and being guided by them, ALA successfully implements the statutory goals set before it, and contributes to possible extent to solve challenges and problems in the field of activity.

The main directions of the ALA activity are:

Fight against corruption in Armenia.
Protection of human rights, including the rights of socially vulnerable groups and women, and raising the level of legal awareness.
Supporting reforms in the justice, including constitutional, judicial and other targeted areas.
Promoting the education of lawyers and young people and
Contributing to the building and establishment of the civil society.

During the reporting period, ALA continued the constructive dialogue and cooperation with various state, private and international structures, the number of which is constantly expanding. ALA has a Central Office and 4 branches in Yerevan, in the Shirak, Lori, and Syunik marzes of the RA, where regional structures and local self-government bodies are involved in the process of implementing the programs; as a result, the impact of the programs implemented by the ALA becomes more large-scale and comprehensive.

The ALA has a rich legal library, the services of which are used by young lawyers from Yerevan and the provinces as well as by other persons interested who are interested in law.

The organization pays much attention to the use of innovative tools. ALA is operating a bilingual official website: https://armla.am/. The ALA, also being the coordinator of the Secretariat of the CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenian (hereinafter referred to as the Coalition), operates the official website of the Coalition: http://aac.am/, ensures the normal course of the Coalition’s activities, provides expert support to the Coalition, covers the activities of the Coalition, ensures the publicity of the results of the activities.

In addition, during the reporting period, ALA also created its own e-learning platform, https://elearning.armla.am/, which was launched and accepted by our beneficiaries. The platform also has a special section, which includes the educational component of the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders, with basic and advanced stages.

In 2020 the independent professional news website www.iravaban.net has been operated with high access rates in Armenian and English, it has more than 240,000 followers on the social media website “Facebook”. The website bizprotect.am has continued to function as well, where anonymous reports on possible corruption risks and other violations in the business sphere are presented, and the ALA ensures that they are addressed by the competent authorities.

ALA MISSION, VALUES AND TEAM

The Mission of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association is: to promote the formation of a sovereign legal community in Armenia with high professional competencies, having invulnerable integrity values and applying the legal innovation, the establishment of a safe legal environment, legal culture, rule of law and legal innovation in the society.

The values of the organization are: Sovereignty, professionalism, honesty, leadership, innovation, teamwork, integrity, justice, solidarity, constructive dialogue, purposefulness, courage and forgiveness.

The ALA team is the cornerstone of success. Skilled professionals who regularly improve their knowledge both in Armenia and abroad make an invaluable contribution to the establishment and development of the institution, coming up with new initiatives and innovative ideas. ALA currently organizes events aimed at increasing the professional qualities and abilities of its members and developing related skills, as well as increasing national, educational and professional values among them. The ALA team strongly emphasizes the significance of the organization’s ideology and values and is constantly guided by them during its activities.

IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES OF THE ALA

Co-creation Support for the 2020-2022 OGP National Action Plan

ALA participated and provided support in Co-creation Support for the 2020-2022 OGP National Action Plan. The “Co-creation Support for the 2020-2022 OGP National Action Plan” project funded by the Open Government Partnership started in October 2020.

The objective of the project was to assist in defining the list of activities for the next two years, target areas, and necessary actions through discussions with the civil society of Armenia and the competent state bodies.

Discussions focused on education, social, public procurement, healthcare and justice sectors. The procedure for developing OGP action plans and setting criteria for priorities has been developed.

Implementation of Chapter II and Chapter V of the UN Convention against Corruption in Armenia

Armenian Lawyers Association and CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia in cooperation with UNCAC Coalition have developed an alternative Report on the implementation of Chapter II (Corruption Prevention) and Chapter V (Asset Recovery) provisions of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in Armenia.

The report addresses the lack of an independent anti-corruption institutional body, political influence, a lack of integrity, monitoring & resources, and an incomplete asset recovery framework are among the many challenges that still persist in the fight against corruption in Armenia.

Key recommendations for the government of Armenia include: filling the gaps in the regulations of the anti-corruption bodies, judiciary, assets, income and interest declarations, procurement system, as well as improving whistleblower framework and integrity checks, and increasing transparency in political parties’ financing. Other recommendations are also included in the report.

Youth as Pioneers in the Fight against Corruption: The 7th Stream of the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders

This year, ALA and the Coalition implemented the 7th stream of the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders within the scope of the program “Youth4Anti-Corruption”. The main goal was to promote the role and participation of young people in the ongoing fight against corruption. The program was implemented online and included basic and advanced learning formats. The anti-corruption policy implemented in Armenia and its direction, institutional solutions and existing challenges were discussed with the participants. With the help of mentors, the students conducted research in working groups on selected topics, the results of their research were presented during the closing ceremony of the School, which took place on 9 December – International Anti-Corruption Day.

Video discussion on “The Second Artsakh War and Its Consequences”

The video discussion under this title took place in the format of a brainstorming and exchange of opinions. The participants of the discussion first referred to the reasons for Artsakh’s defeat in the 44-day war in the format of brainstorming and exchange of views, revealed the corrupt manifestations in the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces, presented arguments and indicated the evidence of the negative role and direct impact of corruption in army building. The participants drew a parallel with Azerbaijan, viewed the issue in the context of geopolitics, and identified the successes and shortcomings of the anti-corruption struggle in post-Soviet Armenia, pointing out the direct connection of anti-corruption policy with the security system.

The second part of the discussion was dedicated to the solution of the issues raised and the presentation of proposals.

Accordingly, the club members stressed the importance of the systemic fight against corruption, the need to raise it and make it heard by the public at large, the political will of the authorities, the formation of an atmosphere of intolerance to corruption, the need for anti-corruption education and the role and active participation of young anti-corruption leaders.

It should be added that the above video discussion as carried out within the framework of the “Alumni Club of the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders” platform created and operated by the “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO, aimed at bring together the graduates of the 6 streams of the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders, strengthening mutual ties and promoting cooperation.

Continuing the discussion on the results of the second Artsakh war, we should note that the protection of the rights of the displaced citizens was carried out both, by providing free consultations, providing support in obtaining social support, as well as through creating institutional units.

Free legal advice to citizens

ALA continued to provide free legal consultations to the citizens. The consultations were provided by the coordinators of both Yerevan and Lori, Shirak and Syunik regional offices. We should also add that consultations were provided in several ways: office visits, phone calls, online, including questions sent on social networks. The questions mainly related to social programs, state benefits, protection of judicial rights, etc. Considering the post-war situation, consultations were provided on military service, monetary compensation and other similar issues. The range of questions raised included both legal and informational questions.

Free legal advice to CSOs

ALA Yerevan and regional offices provided free legal advice to NGOs and foundations on registration and re-registration issues, including drafting charters, protocols and charter amendments. Advice and clarifications were also provided regarding direct business activities by NGOs, tax obligations, reporting, the registration of volunteers and organization of work with them, employer-employee legal relations and other legal matters.

Studies and roadmaps

During 2021, the Coalition and the ALA conducted and published expert studies and road maps on the following topics including: Guarantees of the independence and effective functioning of the court; Role of the SJC; Mechanisms for checking the integrity and responsibility values of judges.

Within the context of the first topic, the international experience regarding the legal status of the judge, the role of the Constitutional Court in the framework of guaranteeing the independence of courts and judges was studied. It should also be added that within the framework of this issue, a study of international experience was conducted. So far the experience of more than 15 countries was performed. Further, based on observations of international and national experience, a road map regarding increasing the role of the Supreme Court in the context of guaranteeing the independence of Armenian courts and judges and the directions for the implementation of priority reforms was developed.

The second topic, addresses other important issues: namely, the study of the mechanisms of Integrity Checking and Responsibility of judges in condition of emergency (transitional justice); International standards and basic standards for judicial reforms, including judicial vetting; International experience of judicial reforms, including judicial vetting by countries. Integrity Checking and Responsibility of judges in the Republic of Armenia under the extraordinary conditions (of transitional justice) was also studied, and on the basis of it the roadmap of mechanisms for conducting Integrity Checking of judges in the Republic of Armenia with short-term and long-term actions was proposed.

Monitoring, discussions, analysis and reports

The year 2021 was full of initiatives to amend and supplement judicial and anti-corruption legislation as well as monitoring initiatives. The ALA and the CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia, as a specialized bodies in the field of anti-corruption, continued their active participation and support in the legislative activity.

Monitoring։ Multi-content work was carried out regarding the monitoring of the actions of the Republic of Armenia Anti-Corruption Strategy and Its Implementation Action Plan for 2019-2022 to be performed in the First Half of 2021. The Armenian Lawyers’ Association and the CSOs Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia have conducted the monitoring of activities of the “Republic of Armenia Anti-Corruption Strategy and Its Implementation Action Plan for 2019-2022” to be performed in the first half of 2021. The main objective of the monitoring is to assess the current progress of the implementation of the Action Plan of the Strategy.

The field work of the monitoring was carried out in October-November 2021, and the report was developed in December of the same year. The presentation of the report and the content discussion took place on 9 December, within the framework of the event dedicated to the International Anti-Corruption Day, which was organized by the ALA and the CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia.

A number of tools have been combined for monitoring, including requests for information from relevant government agencies, analysis of available documents, monitoring reports, as well as observations and recommendations provided by the competent government on the draft report, which were partially incorporated into the final version of the report. A focus group discussion was conducted among the specialized CSOs, sector experts and lawyers as well.

The report on monitoring results is available here.

In addition to the already mentioned within this report, in 2021 ALA and the Coalition presented expert opinions, recommendations, reports and analyzes on the following topics:

The draft procedure for establishing a Civil Society Platform under Article 366 of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Extended Partnership Agreement.
Studies, changes and amendment to the judicial system of the RA.
Police Reforms Strategy and Its Implementation Action Plan for 2020-2022.
The study of the draft authored by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia within the framework of the fight against the coronavirus.
Amendments and additions to declarations on assets, income, interests and expenses of officials.
Amendments and additions to the legislative framework of the Anti-Corruption Judicial System.

THE 2021 FINANCIAL REPORT ON THE FINANCIAL MEANS OF THE ALA

	2020
	Thousand
Salaries and social insurance	9,140.4
Depreciation of fixed and intangible assets, repair and maintenance costs	13,105.9
Office and other utility costs	1,372.0
Audit and consulting costs	10.0
Banking costs and insurance costs	24.0
Expenses for non-refundable taxes	10.0
Other administrative costs	15,317.7
Costs from alienation of fixed assets	5,293.7
Losses from currency exchange rate differences	187.4
Program costs	20.0
Other non-reimbursable costs	20.0
Current tax expenses (income)	1,947.6
*Total*	46,448.8

ALA BOARD

The ALA Board is considered to be the governing body of the Organization in the periods between sessions of the General Assembly.

Name, Surname	Position
Karen Zadoyan	ALA President, President of the ALA Board
Arpine Yeghikyan	Executive Secretary of the ALA Board
Marat Atovmyan	Member of the ALA Board
Zaruhi Harutyunyan	Member of the ALA Board
Karen Kocharyan	Member of the ALA Board