Canadian judicial delegation in Armenia to advance anti-drug crime program

Deputy Prosecutor-General of Armenia, Aram Aramyan, has held a meeting with a delegation led by Marc Richard, Chief Justice of New Brunswick, Canada.
The Canadian delegation is visiting Armenia as part of the 2025–2026 technical support program jointly implemented by the Supreme Judicial Council of Armenia and the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs of Canada.

The delegation includes Judge Carole A. Beaton of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, Christine O’Doherty, Executive Director at the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, and Oleg Shakov, Director of the International Programs Division at Federal Judicial Affairs.

Deputy Prosecutor-General Aramyan highlighted the joint project, which is aimed at preventing drug crime and promoting innovative approaches for the effective investigation of drug-related criminal cases, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia said in a press release.

Briefing the Canadian delegation on drug crime statistics in Armenia, Mr. Aramyan noted that the number of drug trafficking cases recorded in 2024 decreased by 28.2%—from 5,070 cases in 2023 to 3,639 cases in 2024.

Of these, 1,910 cases pertained to intent to sell, marking a 31.8% decrease.
Only three cases of juvenile drug trafficking were recorded in the first eight months of 2025, compared to seven cases in all of 2024.