Comparative law and justice/Armenia

Part of the Comparative law and justice Wikiversity Project

Mpotter14 22:19, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

Armenia is a civil law country with a population of 2,967,004. Armenia is a small country in the southeastern edge of Europe and the very western tip of Asia, slightly smaller than the state of Maryland, US, totaling 29,743 spuare km. Located in the South Caucasus, Armenia is a landlocked country just east of turkey. The climate is considered higland continental--hot summers and cold winters. The country is covered with mountains, leaving very little forest land. The lowest point of elevation is at the Debed River, 400m. The highest point of elevation is at its highest mountain Arragats Lerrnagagat, 4,090m.



Geographic Coordinates:
 * 40 00N, 45 00E

The people of Armenia are made up of 97.9% Armenians, 1.3% Yezidi (Kurd), .5% Russian, and .3% of others. Also, the relgious groupd which make up the country are 94.7% Armenian Apostolic, 4% of other varieties of Christianity, and 1.3% Yezidi--Yezidi religion is a monotheist religion with elements of nature worshipping. The languages spoken within the country are 97.7% Armenian--the official language, 1% Yezidi, 0.9% Russian, and 0.4% of others.

Age Structure:
 * -0-14 years: 18.2% (male 289,119/female 252,150)
 * -15-64 years: 71.1% (male 986,764/female 1,123,708)
 * -65 years and over: 10/6% (male 122,996/female 192,267)

History


Armenia's exquisite history dates back centuries ago to the Hayasa-Azzi people, a tribe who was predominant over Armenian land (area around Mount Ararat and present-day Turkey) from 1500 BCE to 1200 BCE. After various years of mixing with nearby cultures, the first official Armenian empire in recorded history emerged in the 9th century BCE.

The Uratu Kingdom & Tigranes the Great
This empire was known as the Uratu (or also the Kingdom of Van). The name, Uratu, is from the Assyrian word urashtu, meaning "high place" (possibly referencing the geographical features of the empire). At its height (7th century BCE), the Uratu kingdom controlled territory from the Caspian Sea (east) to the Taurus Range (south). Uratu's downfall came when many of its cities faced devastating sackings around 600 BCE. Sources of the destruction are unknown, but many years of fighting the powerful Assyrians played a major role in the downfall of the Uratu.

The next powerful kingdom to emerge was under the leadership of Tigranes the Great, who expanded the existing Armenian land all the way to Syria through ruthless warfare against neighboring kingdoms. Tigranes the Great soon found himself in control of land from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Tigranes the Great, or the self-proclaimed "king of kings", was eventually captured in 69 BCE by the Roman Republic. A few years later, Pompey the Great, a general of the Roman Republic, converted Armenia into a Roman state - which was met with heavy warfare by several leaders, with Tiridates I of Armenia triumphing above the rest. Tiridates I's Armenia lasted until 54 CE, when Roman emperor Nero successfuly captured the major Armenian cities of Artaxata and Tigranocerta.

The Romans Are Here To Stay
The Armenians were forced to surrender to the overpowering Romans and agree to the Treaty of Rhandia in 63 CE. This treaty permitted the Armenians to nominate Armenian kings to the throne, but the ultimate governance was allocated to the Romans. Emperor Vespian of the Romans annexed the kingdoms of Commagene and Lesser Armenia in 72 CE to prevent the Parthians (Persians) from encroaching their control over Armenia.

A period of peace followed for decades until Emperor Trajan declared war on the Parthian empire in 114 CE due to unreasonable fears of corruption geared towards the Parthians changing their monarchs. After this, Armenia was kept as a province of the Romanian Empire. Emperor Hadrian was tired of the troublesome behavior of Armenia, consequently granting them their freedom. Although Emperor Hadrian was done with Armenia, the rest of the Parthics and Romans disagreed as wars between the two sides ensued for control over the region.

The Persians vs. The Romanians, Byzantine Victory
The Persian Sasanids, hailing from the Sasanid dynasty (which emerged into power in 224 C), led a full-scale invasion against the Armenians in 252 CE as the Persians perceived the Armenians as a "threat to their power". The Sasanids were fighting the Romans at this point, eventually causing a major divide in the land: One side belong to the Romans, while the other side belong to the Sasanids. In 298 CE, the divided Armenia was united under Diocletian, a Roman emperor, and Tiridates IV. Tiridates IV was an effective ruler, introducing land surveys in order to figure out who should be taxed and how much should said person be taxed. His biggest accomplishment was the adoption of Christianity by 314 CE. This move may have been more to do with political reasoning than religious reasoning.

The Persians reinitiated their ruthless campaign against the Armenians again, forcing emperor Theodosius I (r. 379-395 CE) and Shapur III to dividing Armenia between the Byzantines (continuation of the Roman Empire) and the Persians. About this time (405 CE), Mesrop Mashtots further integrated Christianity into Armenian culture by translating the Bible into the Armenian alphabet.

The Persians attempted to impose the Zoroastrian religion on the Armenian common folk, which proved unsuccessful and led to a war in 451. They were forced to give more religious freedom in response to revolts from 481 CE to 484 CE. Several conflicts ensued between the Persians and the Byzantines, with the latter successively taking over Armenia under Armenian governor Varaztirotz Bagratuni in 628.

Incoming Arab Invasion & Following Centuries
With the Persians successfully defeated by the Byzantines, the Arabs saw their opportunity to engage with the Byzantines. The Arabs attempted to raid Armenia in 640 but through consistent pressure, were able to successfully capture Armenia through an agreement between Syrian governor Muʿāwiyah and Byzantine emperor Constans II Pogonatus in 653. The Arabs allowed the Armenians to autonomiously rule and appointed Theodor Rshtuni, an Armenian noble, as governor. The consistent conflicts and influence of the Byzantines on Armenia contributed to social and political revolution, making way for the Bagratuni Dynasty. The Arabs appointed Ashot Msaker, an Armenian prince from the Bagratuni family, in 800, which solidified the Bagratuni family's power over Armenia. Bagratid Armenia flourished for decades, bringing economic and cultural revival to the nation.

The following centuries proceeded with Armenia being thrown under various leaderships, including the Iranians (Sallarid Dynasty) and Turks (Seljuk Dynasty). Even religious disputes existed, with at one point the Armenians were divided between the Catholics and Apostolic (1300s).

Western Armenia (Ottomans) vs. Eastern Armenia (Persians), End of Persian Rule, Armenian Genocide
In the mid-1500s, Armenia was separated into two halves: Western Armenia was under the leadership of the Ottomans (prominent Turkish empire) while Eastern Armenia was under the Safavid Persians after the Peace of Amasaya. In the early 1600s, Shah Abbas I of the Persians broke the peace and revolted against the Ottomans. The patient and skillful works of Shah Abbas I saw him take control of most of the land that the Turks took away (in defense) from the Persians. Another Ottoman-Safavid War took place from 1623 to 1639, handing Eastern Armenia over to the Safavids while Western Armenia remained under Ottoman control. Eastern Armenia, mostly all of modern-day Armenia, was eventually lost to the Persians and handed over to the invading Russians, who scorched the Persians in the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813; 1826-1828). The 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay forced the remaining Persian land to be under Russian territory, effectively ending the Persian-Armenian era. The Ottomans soon ruled over the Armenians, leading to the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

The Armenian Genocide of 1915 was a systematic massacre of the Armenian population from Anatolia (a large peninsula that is modern-day Turkey) and other regions ruled by the Ottomans during World War I. The Ottomans were attempting to unify the Muslim presence in the Armenian regions and viewed the Christian Armenian population as an "obstacle" to this achievement. Over a million Armenian Christians were killed in this atrocity.

Soviet Armenia & The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
The Ottomans lost World War I in 1918 & collapsed just a few years afterwards, thereby eliminating Turkish control of Armenia. Armenia experienced independence for a brief time as the First Republic of Armenia (1918-1920), but was ended by a 1920 Red Army (Soviet Union) invasion & vicious attempts to regain control over Armenia by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's Turkey.

Several treaties, including the Treaty of Kars, were declared between Turkey and the Soviet Union. The 1921 Treaty of Kars set boundaries between Turkey and the Soviet Union, where the latter firmly cemented their political ideology of communism over the remaining Armenian land. Armenia became a part of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR), a league of Soviet Union republics including neighboring Azerbaijan and Georgia. In 1936, the TSFSR ended due to changes in the Soviet's constitution and Armenia became a full republic. The entire time of Soviet rule (until 1990), Armenia was transformed from a heavily agricultural society to a leading land of industrialism & intellect. From 1988 - 1994, the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a self-goverened Soviet Union province (known as an "oblast") within modern-day Azerbaijan, was the setting of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War between the Azerbaijani military and the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh, geographically pictured on the left, was established in 1923 by the Soviet Union. In 1988, the autonomous oblast voted on joining the Republic of Armenia - resulting in wide-scale war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In 1994, the Russians declared a ceasfire that allowed Nagorno-Karabkah to operate as a "de-facto" government but still heavily relying on Armenia economically and militaristically. As a result of the two countries not being able to establish a peaceful resolution, Armenia's economy has been severely hurt. Consequently, Turkey closed its common border with Armenia in 1994 which added to the Armenia's economic struggle. However, in 2009 Armenian leaders decided to pursue rapprochment with Turkey which may lead the re-opening of the common border.

Present Day
In 1990, Armenia seceded the Soviet Union and became an independent country. The following year, Armenia was voted to become a Republic (an elected president leads the nation, rather than a monarch). Other countries started to recognize Armenia as an independent country and begun diplomatic relations with it.

Tensions still remain high between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh oblast.

Economic Development
Industries:

Armenia's exports contribute 714 million dollars (U.S. dollars). The countries main exporting commodities are pig iron, unwrought copper, nonferrous metals, diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, and energy. It's trade partners of exports consist of--in order of highest percentage of trade--Germany, Russia, the U.S., Bulgaria, Georgia, Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada. Armenia's imports total 2.72 billion dollars; its main importing commodities are natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, and diamonds. The countries main partners for imports consist of--also highest percent to lowest--Russia, China, Ukraine, Turkey, Germany, and Iran.

Health
Infant Mortality Rate:

Life Expectancy at Birth:

Education
In Armenia children are expected to attend school, the expectancy life for school is 11 years for the males and 12 years for the females. The literacy rate within the country is 99.7% for males and 99.2% for females.

Governance
Armenia is a democratic country, who's state power is administered by their Constitution and laws based on the principle of seperation of its three powers of government. The government of Armenia consists of a president as well as three powers of government; executive, legislative, and judicial. In addition, the country is seperated into eleven different sections/regions calleds marzes, including their capital Yerevan which is considered its own marz. Each marz has its own govenor--who are appointed and dismissed by government decrees, such governement decrees can be ratified by the President. Each govenor implements regional policy in the following areas--finance, urban development, housing and utilities, transport and road construction, agriculture and land use, education, health care, social security, culture and sports, nature and environmental protection, commerce, public catering, and services. The marz's govenor coordinates with the executive authorities in the areas of--international affairs and national security, defense, communication, energy, taxes, emergency situations, civil defense, and others. Armenia's state government is seperated into three powers with a president not considered part of either. The President is the head of state, responsible for ensuring adherense to the constitution, and guarunteeing soverignity, and territiorial integration and security. The President is elected by the citizens of Armenia for a five year term. The Executive Power consists of a Prime Minister who is nominated by parlimentary majority and appointed by the president; as well as ministries of-- Territorial Administration (also the Vice Prime Minister), culture, the Diaspora, education and science, energy and natural resources, foriegn affairs, justice, nature protection, transport and communication, agriculture, defense, economy, emergency situations, finance, healthcare, labor and social affairs, sport and youth affairs, and urban development. The President appoints and discharges members of the ministries on the Prime Minister's proposal. The Legislative Power is made up of a single chambered National Assembly, which is made up of one hundred thirty one deputies; seventy five of these deputies are represented proportionally, fifty six are represented in majority. Citizens elect the deputies from their region for five year terms. The Judicial Power, is made up of the first instance court of general jurisdiction, coutrs of appeal, the court of Cassation, which ensures uniformity in the implementation of the law, as well the Constitutional court which administers constitutional justice. The Constitution and the law define the procedure for the formation and the activites of the judicial power.

Office Holding Qualifications
Presidential Qualifications: atleast thirty five years old, a citizen preceding ten years, a permenant resident preceding ten years, and the person running must still have their right to vote, if their right to vote has been revoked they are not eligable to hold office

National Assembly Qualifications: atleast twenty five years in age, residency preceding five years, must also have their right to vote

Law Making Process
The law making process in Armenia is explained in their constitution, articles 111 and 112-

Article 111

 * The Constitution shall be adopted or amended by referendum, which may be initiated by the President of the Republic or the National Assembly.


 * The President of the Republic shall call a referendum upon the request or agreement of the National Assembly. For such a decision of the National Assembly is required the majority votes of the total number of the Deputies.


 * The President of the Republic may remand the Draft Constitution or the draft of constitutional amendments, within twenty one days following their submission back to the National Assembly, with his or her objections and suggestions, requesting a reexamination.


 * The President of the Republic will submit to a referendum within the period prescribed by the National Assembly a draft Constitution or draft constitutional amendments, when they are reintroduced by at least two thirds of the total number of Deputies of the National Assembly.


 * If the initiative belongs to the President of the Republic, the National Assembly shall within a three-month period following the receipt of the draft of the Constitution or amendments thereof put the motion on holding a referendum on the draft to the vote. If the majority of the total number of the deputies of the National Assembly vote for the draft, the latter shall be deemed adopted and the President of the Republic shall submit the draft to a referendum on the date set up by himself/herself.

Article 112

 * Laws may be submitted to a referendum upon the request of the National Assembly or the Government in accordance with Article 111 of the Constitution.


 * Laws passed by referendum may only be amended by referendum.

Elections
Elections in Armenia are conducted as a Secret Ballot system where privacy in voting is both a right and responsibility of the voter, voting by proxy is prohibited. Voting in Armenia is only permitted in it's territory. To be eligible to vote, one must be an eighteen year old citizen, voting is not required, it is voluntary.

Judicial Review
Judicial Review is the job of Armenia's Constitutional Court, which plays a role like the United States' Surpeme Court; they are responsible for administering constitutional justice.

Courts and Criminal Law
First Instance Courts of General Jurisdiction- Jurisdiction over civil, criminal, military, and administrative cases, detentions, search warrants, and privacy of communication

Courts of Appeal (two seperate)- first: Court of civil appeals, second: Court of criminal and military appeals

Court of Cassation- highest judicial instance in RA (besides the Council of Justice), provides the universal application of law and correct interpretations of law

The Council of Justice- an independent body made up of nine judges, elected by the General Assembly of judges for a term of five years. The Council of Justice has several jobs including, forming and submitting a list of candidates for new judges and lists of promotions for judges, proposes candidates for chairmen and judges for the Court of Cassation, Courts of Appeal, Fisrt Intance, and other specialized coutrs (ex. economic court), by request from the president the Council of Justice expresses opinions on the issue of pardon, and it imposes disiplinary liability on judges.

Punishment
In Armenia, corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime According the armenian criminal code, "The persons who committed a crime are equal before the law and are subject to criminal liability regardless of sex, race, color, language, religion, political or other beliefs, national or social origin, ethnic minority identity, birth, property, or other statuses." In addition the countries criminal code also states that they do not descriminate against criminals based on sex, race, color, language, religion, political or other beliefs, national or social origin, ethinic minority identity, birth, property, or any other status. Punishments within the country are sentence with consideration of the accused as well as the accused crime, "the punishment and other legal and penal measures applied to the person who committed an offence must be fair, appropriate to the gravity of the crime, to the circumstances in which it was committed, to the personality of the criminal; they must be necessary and sufficient to correct the criminal and to prevent new offences." Article 19 in the countries criminal code explains the different types of crimes as well as how they are punishable. The article states that the degree of crimes are categorized as not very grave, medium gravity, grave, and particularly grave. Not very grave crimes are considered those which require a maximum of 2 years of prison, or for a crime in which the punishment doesn't require imprisonment, or lastly a crime "committed through negligence," in which the punishment would not be more than 3 years of imprisonment. Medium gravity crimes are classified as crimes which don't consist of a punishment more than 5 years of imprisonment, and crimes committed through neglagence with a punishment no more than 10 years of imprisonment. Grave crimes are crimes in which the punishment does not exceed more than 10 years of imprisonment. Lastly particularly grave crimes are those in which the punishment is more than 10 years or life of imprisonment. Article 49 in Armenia's criminal code states the types of punishment which they practice, including fines, public worsk, deprivation of special titles such as military ranks, confiscation of property, correctional labor, arrest, service in a disciplinary battalion, and imprisonment. Article 86 explains the type of punishments for minors including, fines, public work, arrest, and imprisonment.

According to article 104 of the countries criminal code, "murder is illegal willful deprivation of one’s life punished with imprisonment for 6 to 12 years." According to article 138, "Rape, sexual intercourse of a man with a woman against her will, using violence against the latter or some other person, with threat thereof, or taking advantage of the woman’s helpless situation, is punished with imprisonment for the term of 3 to 6 years."

Law Enforcement
Republic of Armenia Police (RA Police)

According to the types of police structures from Reichel's Comparative Criminal Justice Systems on page 194, the Armenian police structure would be considered single centralized, they have one national police force which is responsible for enforcing one set of laws throughout the country. The RA Police are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, meaning their law enforcement and military powers are linked. The commander of the Interior troops is also named the ex-officio deputy chief of police. . The RA Police is made up of a central headquarters with one Chief of Police, one first deputy, and several deputies; all of which are appointed by the President. There are eleven Police Departments throughout the country, one for each of its marzes as well as one in its capital Yerevan, along with fifty two precincs, and several specialized diectories. The rankings of police officers in Armenia begins at the lowest rank with soldiers, followed by police soldiers, junior officer personnel, police middle/secondary officer personnel, senior officer personnel, and finally supreme officer personnel. The qualifications for RA Police is to graduate from a five year training program at The Police Academy.

Corruption
There is very little information for Armenia and their level of corruption, however in 1999 the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index ranked Armenia at a 2.1 on a 10 point scale (0=very corrupted, 10=no corruption) also ranking the country 76th out of 99, inferring that there is a high level of corruption in the country.

Public Opinion--

"Most Armenians are still sceptical about the government's commitment to fight corruption. Only 22% of respondents of the phone survey conducted by CRD/TI Armenia in February 2004 believed that the adoption of a government anti-corruption strategy demonstrated political will to combat corruption."

Crime Rates and Public Opinion
It must be noted, that the crime rates in foreign countries are difficult to track for many reasons. Culturally, values on violence and crime range from culture to culture as well as throughout religions. There are also economic difficulties to take into consideration when trying to track crime; economic inequality, labor market conditions, and education levels can have a large impact on crime rates. In addition to culturally and economically, a cultures structural factors must also be considered when tracking crime. A countries laws on violence and punishment, along with government corruption will definitely have an effect on its crime rates. These along with measurement errors such as a societies ability to organize data, or even a societies definition of crime, must be considered when tracking and comparing a countries crime rates.

According to the OSAC 2010 Armenia Crime and Safety Report, crime in Armenia is pretty much average compared to the amount of crime that one wold find in a large American city. However, in 2009 there was a recorded 71.3% increase in crime in Armenia, which may be the result of an increase in reporting of crime. The most common crimes reported to the American Embassy in 2009 were relatively minor, including pick-pocketing, vehicle break-ins, purse snatchings, and cell phone theft. In 1994, the homicide rate was 5.4 per 100,000, compared to 2.8 for assaults, 0.6 for rapes, and 2.9 for robberies. The rate of theft was 47.9 per 100,000. Drug trafficking is increasing significantly in Armenia. Armenia is an illicit cultivator of marijuana, mostly for domestic consumption however, it is increasingly used as a transshipment point for illicit drugs, more specifically opium and hashish; to Western Europe and the US via Iran, Central Asia, and Russia. In 2008 the homicide rate in Armenia was only 2.5 which is significantly better than it was in 1994. The source of this data is the Armenian Police, and the United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (UN-CTS).

Marriage/Divorce
Armenian women have a fairly high degree of equality within the family. Family law states that the for marriage for women is seventeen while for men it is 18. However, in select cases the marriage age can be lowered to sixteen for both men and women. "A Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) conducted in 2005 showed that 17 per cent of women aged 18 were married, divorced or widowed. In a 2004 United Nations report, this figure was reported to be 9 per cent for girls between 15 and 19 years of age." Marriage must be consented by both parties, and recorded with a registration. "Registration is automatic in the case of civil weddings, but many couples marry in the church without registering."

The marriage law states equality between both spouses in all areas of family, which includes parental authority. The law states two different procedures for parental authority in divorce. If tehre are any children and they are of the age of majority and there is no dispute over property, couples can divorce by mutual consent. If this is not the case, the case is brought before the court. The court awards custody acorrding to the child's best interest. According to cultural traditions, the courts often apply a period of reconciliation. "The Family Code states that assets belonging to the divorcing parties should be divided equally. In many cases, the regulation is not applied, either because the marriage was not recorded by a registrar or because the woman signed a prenuptial agreement forfeiting her right to the application of the law. It should be noted that Armenian tradition is generally hostile to divorce. As a result, many women remain married even though they may be subjected to conflict or domestic violence."

Inheritance
Women also have equal inheritance rights as men however, it is much more difficult for them to record property titles for their inherited land.

Human Rights
The constitution of the Republic of Armenia's articles 40-47 express the fundamental civil and human rights that are protected in the country. Article 40 state that every citizen in the country has the right to freedom of literacy, aesthetic, science and technology creation, use scientific advancement, and participate in society. Article 41 states that every citizen "shall have the right to preserve his or her national and ethnic identity," minorites have the right to "preservation and development of their traditions, religion, language and culture." Article 42 articulates that the rights and freedoms expressed in the constitution will not exclude rights and freedoms prescribed by law. Also, "everyone shall have the right to act in a way not prohibited by the law and not violating others’ rights and freedoms. No one shall bear obligations not stipulated by the law... The laws and other legal acts exacerbating the legal status of an individual shall not be retroactive. The legal acts improving the legal status of an individual, eliminating or mitigating his/her liability shall be retroactive if prescribed by the acts in question. Article 42.1 says, "the fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms shall apply to legal persons to the extent these fundamental rights and freedoms are applicable to them." Article 43 states, "the fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms set forth in Articles 23-25, 27, 28-30, 30.1, Part 3 of Article 32 may be temporarily restricted only by the law if it is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public order, crime prevention, protection of public health and morality, constitutional rights and freedoms, as well as honor and reputation of others...Limitations on fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms may not exceed the scope defined by the international commitments assumed by the Republic of Armenia. Article 44, "special categories of fundamental human and civil rights, except for those stipulated in Articles 15, 17-22 and 42 of the Constitution may be temporarily restricted as prescribed by the law in case of martial law or state of emergency within the scope of the assumed international commitments on deviating from commitments in cases of emergency." Article 45, "everyone shall be obliged to pay taxes, duties and other compulsory fees in conformity with the procedure prescribed by the law." Article 46, "every citizen shall be obliged to take part in the defense of the Republic of Armenia in conformity with the procedure prescribed by the law." Article 47, "Everyone shall be obliged to honor the Constitutions and laws, to respect the rights, freedoms and dignity of others...The exercise of the rights and freedoms with the purpose of overthrow of the constitutional order, incitement to national, racial and religious hatred, propaganda of violence or warfare shall be prohibited."