On 23 June, following the quick adoption of the amendments to the Armenian Constitution in the Parliament, which terminated the powers Constitutional Court (CC) judges who have been in office for more than 12 years and terminated the position of the CC president (Caucasus Watch reported), the now former CC President Hrayr Tovmasyan commented on the issue.
“The whole problem is that the constitutional courts, yes, are like that; they can resolve issues related to them, too. Both the Venice Commission and international documents clearly state that in this case, the Constitutional Court just needs to show more restraint than in other cases,” he said.
“And why is the National Assembly discussing the issues concerning them? Let's create another National Assembly, let it decide. Let's create a new government that will decide how much money to give to the government,” he added.
“As a lawyer, I just feel ashamed of what happened in our National Assembly yesterday,” he emphasized. When asked whether he is not going to appeal in court if, as a result of these amendments, he is removed from the post of President of the Constitutional Court, Tovmasyan said. "In such situations, the person has no right to judicial protection in the domestic system.”
The opposition Prosperous Armenia party announced that it would be collecting signatures from other parliamentarians for an appeal to the CC in regard to the law. The leader Bright Armenia Edmon Marukyan emphasized the fact that the authorities amended the Constitution in a matter of hours, in violation of all types of internationally accepted criteria and the Armenian Constitution. He added that there will obviously be a response to all this and added that Bright will hold discussions with Prosperous Armenia on the matter.
The former ruling Republican party also released a statement, saying that what has happened was an “usurpation of power” in the country, since the majority of the National Assembly possesses the powers of the Constitutional Court and the country’s president, which is not provided for by the Constitution. The statement also said that PM Pashinyan and his government would bear “criminal and political responsibility for this flagrant encroachment against statehood.”
The attorney of Armenia’s former President (Robert Kocharyan) Hayk Alumyan stated that the quick adoption of the law may also have an impact on Kocharyan’s case. He stressed that the authorities are doing everything possible to make sure the Constitutional Court doesn’t exist as such before the decision on the case of Kocharyan is rendered. “Nobody knows if this will work out, but the authorities are doing everything they can to make it happen. I wouldn’t like to present scenarios since there is simply no time, but everyone knows that the purpose of these encroachments against state institutions is to subject one person to liability,” he said.
