33-Year-Old Armenian Judge Declared Over $700 Thousand in Assets

The Administrative Court of Armenia is authorized to examine appeals challenging decisions of state agencies; however, local Zhoghovurd newspaper notes, the majority of the Court's judges are relatives or children of government officials, which means “the independence of the Administrative Court is out of the question.”

Judge Ani Harutyunyan, for example, is the daughter of former deputy chief of Armenia's National Security Service Grigor Harutyunyan. The 33֊year-old lawyer was appointed Administrative Court judge in 2013; however, she's managed to generate “very considerable wealth for herself.” According to Harutyunyan's annual asset declaration filed with the state Commission on the Ethics of High-Ranking Officials, the judge's financial assets amounted to AMD 62 million (about $128,400), $350 thousand and EUR 200 thousand at the end of 2014.