The 2^nd Pan-Armenian Forum of Lawyers kicked off at the sessions hall of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia on July 5^th. The forum is organized by the RA Ministry of Diaspora and the Pan-Armenian Conference of Lawyers and has brought together nearly 100 renowned lawyers from Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora.

RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan presented RA President Serzh Sargsyan’s message in which it was particularly stated: “It is not by chance that the legal issues related to the Armenian Genocide are in the focus of Armenian lawyers. You participate in the processes of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide in theory and practice. Your efforts to draw the attention of state and political structures of different countries to the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and to present the truth to the whold world are commendable and they help prevent the repetition of the horrible crime of genocide in any corner of the globe.”

In her welcoming remarks, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan particularly said: “As we approach the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, it is very important for us to not only bring a new sweep to the struggle, but make it more organized and lay the scientific foundations for it. Nearly 100 years have passed since the Genocide, but the wounds and consequences of the genocide remain. Despite the genocide perpetrated by Turkey, the Armenian nation exists, has two states and a strong Armenian Diaspora, and so our fight for the restoration of historical justice is still ahead.”

The opening ceremony also included welcoming remarks by President of the RA Constitutional Court Gagik Harutyunyan, RA Minister of Justice Hrair Tovmasyan, RA Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan, Judge of the European Court of Human Rights Alvina Gyulumyan, RA Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan and Minister of Justice of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Ararat Danielyan. Congratulating the participants of the forum on Armenia’s Constitution Day, the speakers attached importance to future actions for recognition of the Armenian Genocide at the legal level. To resist the foreign challenges, the speakers attached importance to the preparation of young experts in international lawwho will present the legal aspect of the issue in the international arena. This forum will serve as a new impetus for more effective activities of the State Commission established “Ahead of the 100^th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide” and the regional committees established in the Armenian Diaspora.

During the panel session devoted to “The process of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and international legal thought”, the participants discussed the suitability of raising the issue of the legal solution to the Armenian Cause at the international level, the adequate restitution of properties and territories, the elimination of the consequences and other issues. The lawyers also touched upon the legal consequences of the international Treaties of Sevres and Kars, the application of the regressive force of the Geneva Convention as the first international treaty of human rights and the key issues related to the succession in international law for state crimes.

The forum also included the presentation of the book “Constitutionality of the New Millennium: Paradigms and Challenges of the Reality” at the National Gallery of Armenia, after which the participants of the forum visited Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial.

The forum will continue on July 6^th.