STRENGTHENING THE BONDS WITH ARMENIAN LAWYERS IN FRANCE AND ARMENIA IS THE THEME AS THE ARMENIAN BAR ASSOCIATION HOLDS ITS MIDYEAR MEETING IN PARIS AND YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27 TO OCTOBER 7, 2007

Fulfilling a promise to His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, a strong contingent of Armenian lawyers and judges flew to Paris, then Yerevan to hold the Armenian Bar Association’s (ArmenBar) 2007 Midyear Meeting at both locations between September 27 and October 7, 2007.

The trip served many purposes, including honoring Karekin II’s invitation to visit Goshavank, the ancient church named after the father of Armenia law, Mekhitar Gosh. Gosh was an Armenian intellectual and legal scholar of the late 12th and early 13th centuries, whose works include the codification of Armenian law. The church is located in the Dilijan region of Armenia, and in addition to the beautifully restored structure, the residence of Mekhitar Gosh with some of his personal belongings remain as a tribute to the historic Armenian leader.

Reconnecting with French and Armenian counterparts of ArmenBar was another goal which was realized at the Midyear Meeting. The group flew first to Paris to meet with French Armenian Lawyers’ Association. On the second leg of the trip, the group met in Yerevan where they had an audience with the Armenian Chamber of Advocates.

The trip served to solidify ArmenBar’s reputation as a truly international association of Armenian attorneys. Led by Chairman Frank Zerunyan, the group established a better line of communication with the French and Armenian lawyers associations, gaining many new members in the process.

“We had a wonderful group of members attend this historic Midyear Meeting, and all served as goodwill ambassadors for our brothers and sisters in Paris and Yerevan,” said Zerunyan, the Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Rolling Hills Estates in Southern California.

The first leg of the trip was a 3-day stay in Paris. Members and guests were treated to a traditional Armenian luncheon at the Armenian owned Yans Club. The Yans Club also served as the venue for the meeting of the Board of Governors, which was followed by a legal symposium.

Zerunyan presided over the meeting of the Board then introduced the group to a large contingent of French Armenian lawyers who were on hand to participate in the festivities. A graduate of Samuel Murat College in Paris, Zerunyan conducted the ceremonies in both English and French.  The President of the French Lawyers Association, Alexandre Armen Couyoumdjian, Avocat a La Cour, welcomed ArmenBar members to Paris, discussed some of the group’s activities and vowed to work closely with ArmenBar toward achieving common goals.

French attorney and scholar, Astrig Bourmayan, Avocat a La Cour, then provided a book review of the compelling text entitled “The Legal Aspects of the Armenian Genocide” written by J.B. Racine.  She was followed by Jacque Menendian, Avocat a La Cour, who discussed the topic of “Genocide reparations: Actions Performed by the Collective 2015.

Raymond Yezeguelian, a member of the Board of Directors of the Yans Club, treated ArmenBar members to the luncheon, which featured Nelly Tarvidier-Henrot, Commissaire general, appointee of former French President Jacque Chirac and the Director of the world famous Louvre Museum. Tarvidier-Henrot was responsible for organizing an exhibit entitled “Armenie Mon Amie, Annee de L’Armenie en France” or “Armenia my Friend and The Year of Armenia in France” and included several priceless pieces of Armenian art, cultural and religious artifacts. Tarvidier-Henrot spoke about the exhibit, and the positive influence it had on France and visitors from throughout the world.

Among the items included in the exhibit were several khachkars (stone carved holy crosses), “Geghard” the spear of destiny, a petrified piece of wood recovered from Mt. Ararat, said to be a piece of Noah’s Ark, and ancient manuscripts.

Ms. Tarvidier-Henrot and the French Armenian lawyers were presented with gifts from ArmenBar, including a glass paperweight, travel wallet and signature Armenian painting. The paperweight and wallet included the ArmenBar logo.

Olivier Roumelian was the organizer of the Paris meeting and served as master of ceremonies for the day.  Following the meeting, members were able to take in all of the sights of Paris, including the Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Tomb of Napoleon and many more. The weather was perfect, and those with additional time toured the Palace at Versailles.

On October 1, 2007, the group flew to Yerevan for the second leg of the trip. Most were amazed by the level of progress and advancement Armenia has attained since ArmenBar last held meetings there in 1994 and 2001. Most notable was the brand new terminal at Zvartnots airport, opened just five months prior to the group’s arrival, and the massive amount of construction taking place in Yerevan.

Executive Director Betty Jamgotchian was an excellent organizer and guide, and made sure that the group had access to daily tours to historical sites in Armenia. Those sights included Garni, Geghard, Madenataran (library which houses ancient manuscripts), Dzidzernagapert (Genocide Memorial), Lake Sevan, and the churches at Etchmiadzin, Goshavank, Haghardzin, Hripsime, and Zvartnots.

The group met with the Chamber of Advocates, the Armenian equivalent of the State Bar where Zerunyan and his counterpart Ruben A. Sahakyan exchanged information about their respective organizations, discussed ways the two groups could work together toward common goals and gave each other gifts. Sahakian spoke about the work of the Chamber, its supporting role for the new Public Defender’s office, and its goals to develop attorney disciplinary measures. Also in attendance were past Chairs Armen Hovannisian, Ann Louin, Gary Moomjian, Tom Samuelian, Zaven Sinanian and Vicken Simonian.

At the invitation of Sahakian, renowned Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Garo Ghazarian met with members of the Chamber of Advocates and lectured on the topic of representing those accused of crime in the United States.

The meeting was followed by a Champagne and wine reception in the halls of the Armenian Constitutional Court. Notable members of Armenia’s legal community socialized with ArmenBar members. Zerunyan thanked Justice Gagik Harutyunyan for inviting ArmenBar to the court, and Justice Harutyunyan warmly welcomed ArmenBar to Armenia. The reception was held in a hall of the court named after ArmenBar Honorary Member Armand Arabian, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court (ret).  Arabian underwrote the renovation of the hall several years ago.  In addition to the pride of holding the meeting at such a meaningful location, members were able to meet the first two recipients of ArmenBar’s scholarship fund, Karine Aghababyan (Class of 2007 and Armen Zrvandyan (Class of 2006).

On October 5, Samuelian, who is the Dean of the Law School at the American University of Armenia, and Vahan Bournazian, Associate Dean of the Law School, and the Armenia Programs Chairman, presented an excellent continuing education seminar.

Samuelian started the program by welcoming everyone to Yerevan and discussing the unique aspects of practicing law in Armenia. Topics included an introduction to Armenia’s legal foundations, landmark legislation since independence, the division of labor between attorneys and other professionals in Armenia, practice tips and a review of Armenia’s future legal challenges.

This was followed by Anna Maralyan, an AUA alumus and President of the Alphabet of Rights NGO, who gave a passionate lecture about Mekhitar Gosh. The talk included Gosh’s innovative, medieval law code, the Datastanagirk. Maralyan discussed the life of Mkhitar Goash, his writing of fables to teach morality, and the important legal contributions of his Datastanagirk.

Following the lecture, those in attendance were able to view a practice session of the AUA Law’s Moot Court team. The students are preparing to participate in the upcoming Stetson University College of Law’s International Environmental Moot Court competition. The students were presented with a case to argue, and the panel of judges was composed of ArmenBar members Lousin, Judge Arjuna Saraydarian and Sinanian.

Criminal Defense attorney Garo Ghazarian and Zerunyan served as faculty advisors for each team in the competition. The expense for the Stetson competition has been funded by ArmenBar and donations from members of the group. Everyone was pleased with the progress being made at AUA Law in its efforts to develop the next generation of creative thinking lawyers in Armenia.

On the last day of the trip, Zerunyan met with Yerevan Mayor Yervand Zakharyan at the newly built Yerevan government office. The two mayors discussed ways ArmenBar could help the Republic of Armenia and vowed to keep the line of communication open. Zerunyan presented Mayor Zakharyan with two plaques, one from his own City of Rolling Hills Estates, and the other from the California Contract Cities Association (CCCA) a consortium of 76 California cities representing over eight million Californians. Zerunyan serves in leadership of the CCCA and is about to become President of the organization.

Most of the group stayed at the Golden Tulip, a five star hotel on Abovyan Ave., walking distance from the Republic Square. Located on the north side of the square is Armenia’s National History Museum, which had all of the items back from the French exhibit. Members were able to see the historic items, and take part in the evening ritual of beautiful Armenian music being played in the square while the enormous water fountain in front of the museum danced to the music and laser lights.

Members were also able to take in the ever popular Vernissage, the local weekend arts and crafts market adjacent to the Republic Square, and bring back gifts from Mayr Hayastan. Speaking for the group, Zerunyan proclaimed “This was our third, but definitely not our last trip to Armenia. Going into our Annual Meeting in New York, we will use the momentum we have gained from this historic trip and redouble our efforts to serve our community and our profession.”