Study Tour to the Netherlands

Representatives from Armenia’s judiciary, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as Europe in Law Association NGO, paid a study visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands from June 30 to July 4. The visit was organized within the framework of the project Support to the Armenian Authorities in the Rome Statute Post-Ratification Processes, featuring meetings at the headquarters of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague.

The delegation included the President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Karen Andreasyan, and the Minister of Justice, Grigor Minasyan.

The visit aimed at the introduction of the substantive and procedural aspects of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to the representatives of the RA state entities, as well as clarification of Armenia’s role as a State Party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The members of the delegation had meetings at the International Criminal Court, Kosovo Specialist Chambers, Eurojust, and the judicial institutions of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

In the International Criminal Court, the delegation members met with the ICC President Tomoko Akane and Court Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler to discuss issues, pertaining to the Rome Statute and its implementation, the alignment of the RA legislation with Armenia’s commitments deriving from the Statute, and cooperation with ICC.

The members of the delegation met with the President of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, judge Ekaterina Trendafilova, Chief de Cabinet of the Office of the President and Senior Legal Officer Simon Meisenberg, Specialist Prosecutor Kimberly West, Kosovo Specialist Chambers Registrar Fidelma Donlon. The Specialist Chambers, also known as the Kosovo Special Court, was created by the European Union to prosecute former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

At Eurojust, the members of the delegation met with President Ladislav Hamran, National Member for France Baudoin Thouvenot, National Member for Czech Republic Lukáš Starý, Advisor to the President Marlène van der Klaauw and staff representatives. The role and mandate of Eurojust and issues related to cooperation with Armenia were discussed.

Composed of prosecutors, judges, and police, Eurojust is a European Union agency, which is assigned powers by its member states. The task of Eurojust is to enhance the effectiveness of national authorities in handling cross-border and organized crime investigations and judicial processes.

The Armenian delegation had meetings at the Council for the Judiciary of the Netherlands – with Chair Henk Naves, Vice Chair Areane Dorman, at the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam – with the President of the Court Eveline de Greeve, and at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands – with the President of the Court Judge Dineke de Groot.

The project Support to the Armenian Authorities in the Rome Statute Post-Ratification Processes was launched in March 2024. The project aims at enhancing the dialogue between the Armenian state entities and ICC. The project is implemented by Europe in Law Association human rights NGO with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Armenia.