On August 27, 2025, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, and the Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenian CSOs organized an expert discussion dedicated to the improvement and modernization of the institution of confiscation of property of illegal origin.
The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Justice Gevorg Kocharyan, President of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association and Secretary General of the Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenian CSOs Karen Zadoyan, President of the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia Simon Babayan and members of the Chamber, Deputy Head of the Department for Confiscation of Property of Illegal Origin of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia Hripsime Asatryan and prosecutors of the department, other representatives of the Ministry of Justice, and experts.
In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister of Justice Gevorg Kocharyan emphasized the importance of holding such discussions with the participation of all stakeholders and exchanging views. He noted that in recent months, the issue of initiating amendments to the Law “On Confiscation of Property of Illegal Origin” had been on the agenda of the Ministry of Justice, particularly in light of the adoption of a decision by the Constitutional Court.
Gevorg Kocharyan also added that the Ministry of Justice had not rushed to take action in this direction, as the issue is highly sensitive, and that drafting amendments would be more effective following the collection of opinions through such expert discussions.
The participants were welcomed by the President of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association and Secretary General of the Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenian CSOs, Karen Zadoyan. He emphasized the importance of the continuous improvement of the institution of confiscation of property of illegal origin, underlining that it is one of the cornerstone tools in the fight against corruption.
In his remarks, Karen Zadoyan addressed the issue of setting limitation periods for the application of the procedures of the Law “On Confiscation of Property of Illegal Origin” following Constitutional Court Decision No. SDO-1776:
“The legislator is obliged to clearly define limitation periods through proportionate and foreseeable regulations for two temporal regimes—property acquired before and after the entry into force of the law. In addition, where the subject matter of a civil claim within criminal proceedings coincides with that of a confiscation claim, priority should be given to the restoration of victims’ rights, and only thereafter to confiscation in favor of the state. This will allow for balancing public and private interests and will exclude the possibility of double confiscation.”
Advisor coordinating specific functions within the structural units of the Ministry of Justice, Geghatsik Balyan, noted that the Constitutional Court’s decision was of significant importance for the field of confiscation of property of illegal origin, particularly because the Court examined the constitutionality of the law as a whole, thereby addressing numerous provisions of the law.
During the event, systemic issues related to the improvement of the institution were discussed, including the establishment of limitation periods, the causal link between the criminal offense and the acquisition of property, as well as issues concerning the relationship between criminal proceedings and proceedings on confiscation of property of illegal origin.
