On the 5th anniversary of the founding of the Human Rights Defender's Office (HRDO) in Armenia, Armen Harutyunyan, the Human Rights Defender (HRD) told reporters that the organization had been able to convince both the regime and the opposition that his office is independent of all other bodies and that it can serve as a viable mediator. HRD Harutyunyan made his comments at an international conference dedicated to the founding of the HRD Office in Armenia. Over the last five years the HRDO has received about 24,000 petitions mainly dealing with property rights issues and court cases. The HRD also noted that 1% of the more than 100,000 cases pending at the Strasbourg European Court are from Armenia. "Our citizens regard the Strasbourg court is the only vehicle to receive a fair hearing," Mr. Harutyunyan said. He noted that in the past 6-7 years not one civilian complaint regarding private property rights has been adjudicated in favor of any claimant and that this serves as a warning regarding the level of just jurisprudence in Armenia. The position of HRD was created in Karabakh in 2008 and 300 civilian complaints were received in the matter of seven months. The current Karabakh HRD, Yuri Hayrapetyan, stated that there was a real need for such an institution in the country. "One of the methods to build democracy was the creation of this organization. We understood its importance and included it in our constitution.