Today, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia Anna Vardapetyan received about 20 students from the law faculties of various universities operating in Armenia, who had been selected through a competitive process to participate in the Autumn School on Human Rights. They discussed issues concerning the protection of human rights in the exercise of the Prosecutor’s Office’s powers.

In her opening remarks, Anna Vardapetyan spoke about the powers of the Prosecutor’s Office, its victim-centred policy, the work carried out to protect State and community interests, and the process of confiscation of property of illicit origin.

Referring to the work carried out to protect victims’ rights and the Prosecutor’s Office’s approach in this regard, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia stated: “This year, the Prosecutor General’s Office, jointly with the Council of Europe, held a major conference, where, among other important issues, we also addressed victim-centred criminal justice. We often encounter situations in which victims feel alone throughout the entire criminal justice process. In this regard, we have focused our efforts on ensuring that victims see the Prosecutor’s Office as a partner, one with whom they go to court together, so that they do not feel alone in the criminal justice process,” Anna Vardapetyan noted, emphasising that the Prosecutor’s Office’s victim-centred approach has no alternative.

“The Prosecutor’s Office also adopts a victim-centred approach in the exercise of its functions relating to the confiscation of property of illicit origin and the protection of State interests. If you follow our public activities, you will notice that, among other things, our work is aimed at returning public assets to the public. In other words, what belonged to everyone — gardens, parks and green spaces — is being returned to everyone as a result of the Prosecutor’s Office’s work, for the purpose of social use,” the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia stated. Anna Vardapetyan also answered questions from the participants of the Autumn School on Human Rights, which concerned, i.a., the statutory requirements for candidates for the position of prosecutor, particularly professionalism and integrity.