Armenia’s Ombdusman Reveals the Going Rate for a Court Ruling

Findings from a survey conducted by Armenia's Human Rights Defender's Office indicate the existence of corruption in the judicial system. The results are outlined in the "Mechanisms of Corruption" section of the Ombudsman's annual report, which was presented in Yerevan today.

"A bribe is given to the judge of the court of first instance, who assumes responsibility only for the ruling he hands down. For every following instance, it is the briber himself who is obliged to 'harmonize' the outcome of the case — by sealing a new deal with the judge or judges of that court. In another case, the judge asks for a greater sum to keep the 'verdict'; that is, he guarantees that his ruling won't be reversed in higher courts. This method assumes a divvying up of funds among higher court judges," reads the report, in part. According to the report, judicial bribe amounts are determined based on 10% of the amount of the lawsuit or claim. 

"Generally, according to the majority of respondents, bribe rates fluctuate between $500 –$10,000 at the court of first instance; $2,000–$15,000 at the Court of Appeal; and $10,000–$50,000 USD at the Court of Cassation," reads the report.

However, according to the majority of respondents, there are no uniform standards of determining bribe amounts, and there is an individual approach to deciding the amount in each case. "The participant in the case is immediately in contact with any member of the Court of Cassation and then the case is directly under the control and orders of the Court of Cassation member.

"He who has not achieved success in two courts, coming to an agreement with the Court of Cassation, manages to get the judicial act quashed;  that is, he doesn't pay anything to the court of first instance or the appeals court, and he 'addresses' his problem only at the Court of Cassation," reads the Ombudsman's report. 

The print version of the report was distributed to reporters at Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan's press conference. Andreasyan begins each chapter with an excerpt from legislation, laws, international instruments, and even the Bible.