Armenian Service of Radio Free Europe has revisited what the Armenian Prime Minister addressed in his speech given to the National Assembly on May, 2019 regarding the fact that the country does not het have an independent and credible judiciary in the country, considering the biggest shortcoming of his government to be the failure to return assets “stolen from the people” as well as the lack of success in fight against corruption.

Responding to the Prime Minister’s speech in an interview with Radio Free Europe, Project Director of Transparency International Anticorruption Center, Varuzhan Hoktanyan has noted that Armenia has so far had rather moderate results in terms of combatting corruption, which remains a serious issue. “The social and economic situation, the living standards and the economic system do not allow us to have an indeed manageable and low level of corruption,” the TIAC expert has opined.

Armenia has made progress in the TI Corruption Perception Index climbing to 77 in the global ranking table only trailing behind Georgia in the region.

In its annual report published on May 6, the Washington-based Freedom House speaks of the need to make serious investments in ensuring the rule of law and support to independent institutions, particularly with regard to comprehensive reforms in the judiciary and the police.

Original source: Armenian Service of Radio Free Europe