Strong reprimand to the advocate for expressing his opinion

Advocate Mushegh Shushanyan was strongly reprimanded for having expressed his opinion in the press. The Board of the Chamber of Advocates made Mushegh Shushanyan’s statement at the “Hraparak.am” and the “aravot. am” websites an issue for discussion to subject him to disciplinary liability.

It should be reminded that last year on June 21, the court removed Varuzhan Avetisyan, a member of the “Sasna Tsrer”, for his making a call to the people at the court trial. A break was announced, after which Mushegh Shushanyan did not return to the court room, claiming that Varuzhan Avetisyan did not allow him to participate in the case hearings without him. Artush Gabrielyan assessed that act of Mushegh Shushanyan as disrespectful attitude to the court and applied a judicial sanction, sending an application to the Chamber of Advocates to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the advocate.

The Chamber decided to subject M. Shushanyan to disciplinary sanction. In his interview with Hraparak.am, Shushanyan assessed the Board of the Chamber of Advocates as an extraordinary court and a punitive body for a part of advocates.

“It was not relating to my case alone; I would like to mention disciplinary proceedings against Tigran Yegoryan. It was simply a shame to make such a decision. As a result of those proceedings, it became clear what had happened and what were behind the disciplinary proceedings against Tigran Yegoryan, and in general, what purpose does it pursue. I would like to mention that yesterday in the afternoon I sent a note to the Board demanding them to provide me a number of documents and information in order I would be able to present my explanations and position, and in my notification I offered that seven members of the Board should have to be withdrawn.

It were those members of the Board who were involved in the case of Araik Papikyan. Though they had quashed the proceedings for his having left the courtroom, but they had done it on the ground that the motion for applying a judicial sanction was accepted with a violation of law. At the same time, they expressed their position about his having left the courtroom. In my motion, I qualified this as an illiterate legal position.

Those advocates were Nelly Harutyunyan, Hrant Ananyan, Melanya Arustamyan, Simon Babayan, Tigran Khurshudyan, Karen Mejlumyan and Arayik Ghazaryan. The Board, however, did not examine my motions and promptly made a decision on subjecting me to disciplinary sanction. I was reprimanded. All these facts give me grounds to say that the Board has become an extraordinary court and a punitive body for some of the advocates,” Taron Simonyan, the chairperson of the hearings, read advocate Mushegh Shushanyan’s words.

On the website of “aravot. Am”, the advocate qualified the position of the Chamber as an “illiterate legal position” that in any case the advocate’s leaving the courtroom is unacceptable regardless of the client’s position.

 Answering the question of what legal norm is allowing that, Mushegh Shushanyan replied that he did not want to open the brackets. He will speak on this issue after he has received the decision.

Both parties were not present at the hearings of the Board. After having returned from the consultation room, the Board of the Chamber of advocates decided to subject Mushegh Shushanyan to disciplinary action, that is, to a strong reprimand.