In the wake of the incident on 20 May were Armenia’s prime minister Nikol Pashinyan called his supporters to block all courts in the country, the domestic and international public is still reacting to this drastic action.

Yuliya Lovochkina (Ukraine) and Andrej Šircelj (Slowenia), the co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Armenia, said that political stakeholders must refrain from actions and statements that could be perceived as exerting pressure on the judiciary, but expressed their support for the judicial reform in the country. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Tjorborn Jagland, held a phone conversation with Pashinyan on 22 May. They both agreed that the reform process, including the fight against corruption and the reform of the judiciary, should proceed in conformity with the constitution, the relevant international standards and Armenia's obligations as a member state of the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe would also send experts in the coming days to offer advice and assistance with the necessary reforms.

The head of the EU delegation to Armenia, Piotr Switalski, also agrees that the reforms in Armenia’s judiciary are necessary, but should be carried out honoring the Armenian constitution and international standards. “I can say that deep and comprehensive reforms in the justice sphere are of significant importance for your future for a number of reasons, but the first reason is that the Armenian people do not trust the courts. Last year the EU financially supported the independent research that documented that an extremely high number of Armenians do not trust the courts”, he said. Asked why the people of Armenia do not trust the courts, Switalski replied: “The two main reasons are the following: corruption; and the political dependency and the political manipulations of the courts. This is the official position of the EU.” He also expressed the EU’s readiness to provide Armenia with technical, consultative, and large financial support.

The USA took further steps after their embassy to Armenia expressed support for the reforms in Armenia’s judicial system. They sent Ruben Carranza, a senior associate from the International Center for Transitional Justice, to help work out the “transitional justice” program in Armenia. Carranza said that Armenia needs to work out criteria that will be applied throughout the whole process, so they will not to perceived as a political vendetta. On 22 May the deputy justice minister of Armenia, Anna Vardapetyan, received the US delegation led by Political Affairs Officer of the US Embassy in Armenia, Somer Bessy-Brayers. The introduction of transitional justice was discussed at the meeting.

The head of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, Sajjad Karim, also expressed concerns about Pashinyan’s action. “We would like to express our concerns regarding the prime minister Nikol Pashinyan’s call on his supporters to block the entrances to all courts nationwide on 20 May, and for a mandatory, popular “vetting” to be applied on all judges. We fully acknowledge that the politicization of judges is a matter of paramount importance in Armenia, and we count on the competence of the authorities, with the assistance of their international partners, to adopt and implement the structural reforms that are needed to ensure that a transparent and efficient judiciary, free from undue influences, will regain the citizens’ trust, as it is a prerequisite for the rule of law”, he said.

Deputies of the parties "Bright Armenia" and "Prosperous Armenia" have also collected necessary signatures to initiate an extraordinary parliamentary meeting on the action of Nikol Pashinyan. However, the initiative failed because of the strong stance of the government faction "My step": The Council of the Armenian National Assembly, which is controlled by Pashinyan’s supporters, rejected the initiative.

Meanwhile, the court in Yerevan which was responsible for the case of Robert Kocharyan, has suspended the trial due to a possible contradiction between the Armenian constitution and coup charges brought against the former president.  The judge presiding over the trial, Davit Grigorian, passed the decision to the Constitutional Court of Armenia. Judge Grigorian’s decision to refer the case to the Constitutional Court was condemned by lawyers representing relatives of the protesters killed in March 2008. They complained that he did not hear their arguments before deciding to suspend the trial.

The main issue derives from Article 140 of the Armenian Constitution which states: “During the term of his or her powers and thereafter, the president of the Republic may not be prosecuted and subjected to liability for actions deriving from his or her status.” The judge’s argument is that Kocharyan acted as president of the republic, not as a private individual, even assuming that his post-election crackdown on the opposition was lawful. Law-enforcement authorities, on the other hand, argue that this clause does not apply to Kocharyan because his actions in February and March 2008 were illegal.