Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan holds master class for student moot court participants at YSU

Armenia's Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan held a master class at Yerevan State University for participants in the first "Protection of Armenia's State Interests" student moot court competition. The competition is a joint initiative of YSU, the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Armenia and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

The competition is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Artavazd Gevorgyan, former Prosecutor General of Armenia. At an event on July 1 marking Prosecutor's Office Employee Day and the 108th anniversary of the establishment of the Prosecutor's Office, Vardapetyan emphasized the importance of introducing young lawyers to the work of figures who made significant contributions to the development of the Prosecutor's Office.

In his welcoming remarks, YSU Rector Hovhannes Hovhannisyan highlighted the importance of cooperation between the Prosecutor's Office and the university, drawing attention to the work of the YSU Legal Laboratory operating in the administrative building of the Prosecutor General's Office.

A total of 14 teams comprising 55 students applied to participate in the first "Protection of Armenia's State Interests" student moot court competition.

Welcoming the participants, Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan said, "I am pleased that the teams represent nearly all universities in Armenia with law faculties, both in Yerevan and across the country's regions. I thank all of you for the great interest and active engagement you have shown in this moot court competition devoted to such an important topic."

Vardapetyan also stressed the importance of encouraging young lawyers to enter public service.

"After being elected Prosecutor General, I set a goal for us to work toward attracting the best lawyers to the Prosecutor's Office to serve the interests of the state, because serving in the Prosecutor's Office goes beyond professional skills; it is also an honorable undertaking," she said.

She also expressed hope that the initiative would help strengthen a culture of integrity, professional ethics, responsibility and fair competition among young lawyers.

During the master class, Filyana Belluyan, Senior Prosecutor at the Department of State Interests Protection of the Prosecutor General's Office; Norayr Nazaryan, Prosecutor in the same department; and Mane Markosyan and Elen Margaryan, Advisers to the Prosecutor General, addressed a range of issues related to the protection of state interests and explained the competition rules before answering students' questions.

The oral round of the moot court competition will take place Oct. 30-31, with the semifinals and final scheduled for Nov. 1.