STATEMENT ON ARMENIA JUDICIAL REFORM PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

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YEREVAN, June 3, 2004. – Over the past weeks there has been growing attention and public discussions surrounded the World Bank financed Judicial Reform Project, approved by the Board of Directors of the Bank in September, 2000. The debates were particularly focused on the Supervision Report of the Chamber of Control of the National Assembly that was prepared in the beginning of 2003 and recently presented to the National Assembly.

The Bank realizes that the supervision and evaluation of the project carried out by the Chamber of Control is an internal matter for Armenia and it does not want to interfere in this process. However, during some public appearances and interviews some officials made specific references to the World Bank and have questioned some of the fiduciary aspects and safeguards of this project. Given this there is a need to explain the Bank’s official position on some of the important project implementation aspects, and Roger Robinson, Armenia Country Manager finds it necessary to provide the following clarifications on some of the issues raised.

1. The World Bank attaches significant importance to the Judicial Reforms in Armenia and as a development partner it intends to continue supporting the Armenian authorities in this key area.

2. From the very beginning of the Project the World Bank has been carrying out close monitoring and supervision of the project implementation. Since the start of the Project the Bank has conducted supervision missions at least twice a year during which it discussed and reviewed the project implementation details with key project counterparts, as well as with other stakeholders. During the supervision missions the Bank’s team has agreed with the implementing agency on any changes in the project design or components that are necessary for effective implementation of the project activities and which would contribute to the achievement of the Project Development Objectives.

3. Unfortunately, due to various reasons the Project start was uneven and there were delays in some of the important project components. The Bank has always expressed its concern about the slow implementation of the institutional development part of the project. However, during the last year some positive progress has been recorded in this complex area.

4. All the procurements and civil works under the Judicial Reform Project have been designed and carried out according to the World Bank procurement guidelines and procedures. For example, all civil works, including court house rehabilitation, have been subject to rigorous competitive tendering processes. These have been regularly reviewed by the World Bank’s procurement specialists. No major deficiency or violations of World Bank fiduciary regulations or procedures have been found. In addition, the Bank’s financial management team conducts a regular review and supervision of the Project Implementing Agency’s financial management and control systems. No major problems have been found in this area either.

5. The revision(reduction) of the number of court houses that are supported under the Project was done in agreement with the Bank team. Due to higher actual construction costs the initially allocated budget was found insufficient for the rehabilitation of all planned court houses. In response to the request of the Armenian Government the Bank has in principal approved some reallocation within the project components, which would allow to complete the rehabilitation of as many court houses as possible.

In addition, the Bank has also agreed with the government’s request to extend the Project’s Closing Date from December 31, 2004 till June 30, 2006.