Ministry of Justice (Armenia)

The Ministry of Justice of Armenia (Armenian: Հայաստանի արդարադատության նախարարություն) is an Armenian government agency which possesses executive authority and executes policies of the Government of Armenia in sectors that are closely associated with laws and regulations. The ministry oversees the operations of the following agencies:^[3]

• Compulsory Enforcement Service
• Penitentiary Service
• Probation Service

Ministry of Justice of Armenia

Հայաստանի արդարադատության նախարարություն
Agency overview
Formed	August 7, 1918[1]
Jurisdiction	Government of Armenia
Headquarters	Yerevan, Armenia
Minister responsible	Srbuhi Galyan[2], Minister of Justice
Website	moj.am

The ministry was founded in 1918 by the government of Hovhannes Kajaznuni of the newly-formed Republic of Armenia.

History

In 1920, the Revolutionary Committee of the Armenian SSR founded the People's Commissariat of Justice, which began to control the Armenian prosecutor's office in December 1923. The Communist Party of Armenia was in-active from 1930 to 1933, of which during those three years, the justice system of Armenia was administered by the Procurator General of the Soviet Union and the Supreme Court of the USSR. In 1936, the prosecutor's office and the investigative bodies were separated from the People's Court of Justice, and the People's Commissariat was reorganized into the Ministry of Justice. It operated until 1959, when its functions were exercised by the Supreme Court until the 1970s. By order of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 2, 1970, the Ministry of Justice of the Armenian SSR was reestablished and became the precursor to the Ministry of Justice of Armenia which was founded in 1991, following the USSR's demise.

The Ministry also oversees the registration of political parties in Armenia. As of March 2021, there are 91 political parties that are registered with the Ministry of Justice.^[4]

List of ministers

First Republic of Armenia

Name	Appointed	Dismissed	Notes
Grigor Ter-Petrosyan	May 28, 1918	November 4, 1918
Harutyun Chmshkyan	April 27, 1919	1919
Samson Harutyunyan	November 4, 1918	Spring 1919
Arsham Khondkaryan	1919	1919
Abraham Gyulkhandanyan	August 10, 1919	Spring, 1920
Artashes Chilingaryan	May 5, 1920	Autumn 1920

People's Commissars and Ministers of Justice of the Armenian SSR

Source:^[1]

Name	Appointed	Dismissed	Notes
Sargis Baghdasaryan	6 December 1920	29 December 1920
Süleyman Nuri	January 1921	17 February 1921
Aghasi Vardayan [hy]	8 April 1921	9 May 1921
Artashes Karinyan [hy]	21 May 1921	September 1921
Alexander Shahverdyan [hy]	17 September 1921	23 September 1922
Daniel Shahverdyan [hy]	23 September 1922	19 November 1923
Levon Vardapetyan [hy]	19 November 1923	24 April 1927
Zarmayr Ashrafyan [hy]	24 April 1927	30 March 1929
Armenak Hovsepyan [hy]	30 March 1929	21 November 1929
Sargis Khanoyan [hy]	21 November 1929	December 1929	In 1930, the commissariat was abolished
Petik Torosyan [hy]	28 January 1933	1 August 1936	In 1933, the commissariat was reinstituted
Armenak Hovsepyan	1 August 1936	29 July 1937
Rza Valibeyov	4 October 1937	2 November 1937
Habet Abajyan	27 February 1938	10 July 1938
Safar Alimammadov [az]	14 July 1938	27 December 1940
Kajik Hakobyan	3 January 1941	4 September 1941
Garnik Nazaryan	3 November 1941	20 February 1948	People's Commissar of Justice was renamed Justice Minister
Hayk Meghavoryan [hy]	24 February 1948	29 March 1951
Aghasi Karapetyan	29 March 1951	March 1959	In 1959, the ministry was abolished
Artavazd Gevorgyan [hy]	29 September 1970	15 March 1989
Armen Ashrafyan	11 May 1989	November 1990

Ministers of Justice of the Republic of Armenia

The Ministry of Justice in Yerevan

Name	Appointed	Dismissed	Notes
Vahe Stepanyan[5]	November 1990	February 1996
Marat Aleksanian	February 1996	1998
David Harutyunyan	1998	May 2007
Gevorg Danielyan	May 2007	December 9, 2010
Hrayr Tovmasyan	December 17, 2010	April 3, 2014
Hovhannes Manukyan	April 30, 2014	July 14, 2015
Arpine Hovhannisyan[6][7]	September 4, 2015	2017	First female Justice Minister
David Harutyunyan[8]	2017	2018
Artak Zeynalyan[9]	2018	March 2019
Rustam Badasian[10]	March 2019	August 3, 2021
Karen Andreasyan	August 3, 2021	October 5, 2022
Grigor Minasyan	December 26, 2022	November 4, 2024
Srbuhi Galyan[2]	November 5, 2024	Present

See also

• Justice ministry
• Politics of Armenia

References

1. "History". Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia. Archived from the original on November 30, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
2. "The Prime Minister introduces the newly appointed minister Srbuhi Galyan to the staff of the Ministry of Justice". The Office to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. November 5, 2024. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
3. "Government - Structure - The Government of the Republic of Armenia". Gov.am. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
4. "How many parties are there in Armenia at the moment?". Hraparak.am. March 19, 2021.
5. FBIS Report: Central Eurasia. The Service. 1992.
6. "Arpine Hovhannisyan appointed Armenia's Justice Minister". News.am. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
7. "Armenia's justice minister sacked". Tert.am. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
8. "PM Karapetyan introduces newly appointed Minister of Justice Davit Harutyunyan". Panorama.am. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
9. "Government - Team Members - The Government of the Republic of Armenia". Gov.am. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
10. New Armenian Justice Minister Appointed