Each year, around 25 October, the European Day of Justice is celebrated across Europe. The initiative seeks to bring justice closer to citizens, raise awareness of their rights, and highlight the work of the Council of Europe and the European Commission in the field of justice. This year marked the third occasion on which Eurasia International University (EIU) joined the celebrations.
On 28 October, EIU hosted an event dedicated to the European Day of Justice within the framework of the JUST FAIR project. Funded by the European Union under the Justice Reform Monitoring in Armenia (JUREMONIA) project coordinated by the Netherlands Helsinki Committee, the initiative supports young researchers in exploring the multidimensional and interdisciplinary concept of access to justice.
The event opened with welcoming remarks by Prof. Dr Suren Ohanyan, Rector of EIU, followed by an address from H.E. Marieke Monroy-Winter, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Armenia. Her Excellency reaffirmed the Netherlands’ strong commitment to the Rule of Law and presented ongoing initiatives supporting justice sector reform in Armenia.
Gayane Hovakimyan, President of the “Social Justice” NGO and a member of the JUREMONIA program consortium, presented the goals of the program and emphasized the importance of cooperation between academia and civil society in training future professionals who will ensure access to comprehensive justice.
Ms Laura Milne, the Country Director of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Armenia, attended the event. Ms Milne presented the initiatives of RWI in the fields of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and accentuated the importance of education and multidisciplinary scholarship for the development and promotion of Human Rights at both domestic and international levels.
The keynote speech was delivered by Ms Anna Karapetyan, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, who presented Armenia’s strategic reforms in the areas of human rights, judicial and legal affairs, anti-corruption, as well as penitentiary and probation systems. MMsKarapetyan also reflected on the main directions of Armenia-EU cooperation, emphasising the Ministry’s role in bilateral engagement, the visa liberalisation process, and the implementation of the EU–Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The keynote speech was followed by a dynamic Q&A session.
In the subsequent session, the program featured presentations of research projects on access to justice developed by the JUST FAIR fellows. The event culminated with a session dedicated to the activities of the EIU Legal Clinic.
A distinctive highlight of this year’s celebration was the exhibition of artistic projects created by students from diverse academic backgrounds. These works reflected their personal visions of the Future of Justice and offered a creative interpretation of its values and challenges. The exhibition vividly demonstrated how art can bridge disciplines and invite deeper reflection on justice as both a legal concept and a profoundly human and cultural experience. This creative dimension made the event particularly memorable, underscoring that justice is both a principle to be upheld and a value to be implemented.
