Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was present at the ceremonial session of the Investigative Committee dedicated to the employee's day.

The Prime Minister congratulated the Chairman of the Central Committee, Argishti Kyaramyan, and all the employees on the occasion of the professional day.

Nikol Pashinyan noted that consistent work is being done to improve the quality of preliminary investigation in the country and that work is bearing fruit. According to the Prime Minister, the policy adopted by the Government has the following logic: no innocent person should be prosecuted, and no guilty person should remain unaccountable.

"In general, we should see the solutions to all our problems in the degree of establishment of our country, state, and institutions. Because whatever we talk about here, whatever problem we talk about in our country, in the end, we will come to some institutional trial and the cause-and-effect relationships arising from it.

In the same security sector, we can already say that our gaps among others, including the justice sector, are expressed because all the problems and failures that we see are also a consequence of, for example, criminal cases that were not previously opened or wrongly terminated. Inconsistency of criminal and, in general, justice, sometimes partiality, sometimes selectiveness, and our political approach, and we move in such a way that all these phenomena should be excluded," said Nikol Pashinyan.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the justice sector and other reforms are of primary importance because all, including security issues, should be able to be solved with an adequate reform agenda.

"We have implemented and are implementing far-reaching reforms in recent years. On January 1, 2024, there will be two investigative bodies in RA: the Investigative Committee and the Anti-Corruption Committee. We have made these decisions due to very long and deep discussions and studies, and our vision of institutionalization has led to such decisions. I want to emphasize and emphasize that from this year all examination operations and interrogations in the Republic of Armenia take place under cameras. I think this is also a significant change that ranks Armenia among civilized countries. Also, with this, we set the problem of saving professional investigators who know how to work on criminal cases with intellectual means, knowing and mastering psychological nuances, being able to evaluate the power of precise and accurate facts, their persuasiveness, and so on," said the Prime Minister.

Nikol Pashinyan also emphasized the almost doubling of salaries in the Investigative Committee. "Besides, the Investigative Committee is not the only one in this regard; during this period, we had salary increases both in the judicial system and the prosecutor's office. The Anti-Corruption Committee was founded with high salaries from the beginning. This expresses our confidence in our investigative bodies and the justice system. Still, my approach to this issue is as follows: there is an institutional problem here, a trial of effectiveness, and a crisis of protecting the rights of citizens.

Recently, when we were discussing the state environment and wanted to understand what salary changes have taken place in the prosecutor's office, courts, and investigative system, and when those rates were put on my table, I want to say directly that as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, I felt perfect, including the fact that today, many officials of the Investigative Committee receive more than the prime minister, sometimes even twice as much. Some say, is this normal or not normal? I consider this more than usual because this is the way to ensure institutional independence and effectiveness," the Head of Government emphasized.

The Prime Minister noted that the change in salary is aimed at increasing the quality of that service. "That service is called justice, justice, the rule of law, certainty of responsibility. We want to expect, and we expect, that no innocent person will be persecuted in the Republic of Armenia. I mean, not only prosecution but protection from other prosecutions is also the job of the Investigative Committee, the job of our law enforcement system. People can be subjected to all kinds of illegal persecution. It is essential that we, as a result of the work of the Investigative Committee and the law enforcement system, set a task to reveal several systemic flaws that cause harm and eliminate them."

Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that the Investigative Committee carries out an essential function with the logic of ensuring the revenues of the RA state budget or applying coercive measures against those who evade tax payments. "The Investigative Department of the State Revenue Committee was transferred to the Investigative Committee system this year. Nice to see you, too, that the operational services of the State Revenue Committee cooperate effectively with the relevant department of the Investigative Committee. In this regard, this year, we were faced with, so to speak, new technological ways of paying tax revenues.

I also want your attention to the fact that the disclosure of even one major case is not enough because if this mechanism exists, assuming that one or two businessmen are using this mechanism would be naive on our part. I have presented this problem to the SRC and other competent operational bodies; this problem has also been put before the Investigative Committee so that we can consistently continue so that we can eradicate this logic of avoiding taxes by technological and non-technological means from the Republic of Armenia because the unpaid tax belongs to our children. Is the lack of education, the lack of infrastructure necessary for proper physical training, the scarcity of appropriate health services, the solution of various problems in the security sector," said the Prime Minister.

According to the head of the Government, the reforms in the justice sector also aim to promote economic development. "Everyone should be able to freely carry out proper and legal economic activities. Despite all our security challenges, we have no problems with economic macroeconomic stability. There is only one reason for this: there is an opportunity for free economic management in the Republic of Armenia, and it gave us the opportunity, allowed us to ensure macroeconomic stability, so that we do not have negative chain effects arising from this," said Nikol Pashinyan.

Referring to the existing problems in the security sector, the Prime Minister noted. "We are very sorry for the emerging issues in our country, especially in the security field. It is tough to find a person who does not feel this pain at the genetic level, but in Armenia, in 2023, criminal cases were revealed regarding release from military service in exchange for bribes and fraud. Who does those things, dear colleagues? Let's put it on record: the people with the highest service rank: doctors and soldiers. This reveals deep socio-psychological contradictions. We need to understand what has happened to us and what is happening to us. But on the other hand, it should be evident that this is a red line for us because this is where the problems arise.

However, it should be noted again that we should refrain from deceiving ourselves that we understand all the problems and recognize all the challenges that are before us. Look today; events are happening in the world that do not fit into any formula or logic, and the world, reality, and relations are dynamic. Our way for this is to make institutional reforms so that our state and the public organism are as healthy as possible. One way to be healthy is to fight against diseases, ailments, and gaps consistently. One of the most critical missions on its way belongs to the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia. And I wish you and us good luck on this journey."

Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that the most critical demand in the Republic of Armenia was and continues to be justice, justice, the rule of law, and the inevitability of responsibility. Again, I want to remind, urge, and ask all of you that two directions are essential: no innocent person should be prosecuted, and no guilty person should avoid responsibility. The consistent implementation of this resolution today, tomorrow, and forever is the most excellent service to the motherland, the Republic of Armenia.

And I want to thank you and express my belief that today, that resolution is the basis of everyone's work", said the Head of the Government.

Nikol Pashinyan noted that when he is told that someone has been falsely accused, his first reaction is that it is impossible because no authority in the Republic of Armenia would give such an instruction. There are no investigators in the Republic of Armenia. Who will carry out that instruction? "Justice, justice, the rule of law, and the inevitability of responsibility must work in the Republic of Armenia. And I want to wish you, expect and believe that you stand firmly in the position of defending these principles, these values because these values are the basis of the sovereignty, independence and future of the Republic of Armenia," said the Prime Minister.