Friday, February 7 2020 10:42

ArmInfo. The Chamber of Advocates of Armenia made a statement regarding the decision of the Parliament on submitting draft amendments to the Constitution of the  Republic of Armenia for referendum.

The Council of the Chamber of Lawyers of the Republic of Armenia  notes that the rule of law and the separation and balance of powers,  which have been enshrined in Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of  the Republic, are of key importance in the establishment of the rule  of law. <The initiation of a number of NA deputies of amendments to  the Constitution, providing for the termination of powers of  representatives of the judiciary (exercising constitutional justice)  by the legislative branch, is nothing more than an attempt to violate  Article 4 of the Constitution. The termination of the powers of  judges of the Constitutional Court by the National Assembly directly  contradicts parts 8 and 9 of Article 164 of the Constitution, which  exhaustively list the grounds for the termination of powers of  judges>, the statement emphasizes.  According to the Chamber, the  adoption of the package of amendments may cast doubt on the  independence of the judiciary in Armenia. It is also noted that the  draft constitutional amendments bypassing the Constitutional Court  contradicts paragraph 2 of article 168 and part 2 of article 169 of  the Constitution.

The Council of the Chamber of Advocates calls on the deputies of the  National Assembly, the Government and political forces to concentrate  on ensuring the further progress of judicial and legal reforms,  including, in particular, removing obstacles to the professional  activities of lawyers, ensuring the right to a trial within a  reasonable time, increasing confidence in the courts, introducing an  effective system for monitoring the implementation decisions of the  Constitutional Court, the European Court of Human Rights, the Court  of Cassation, and so on. The Chamber of Lawyers expresses its  readiness to closely cooperate with state bodies in various formats  regarding the implementation of these real reforms.

The day before, the Armenian parliament decided to submit draft  amendments to the Constitution to the referendum. Thus, this question  is referred actually to the will of the citizens of the country.  During the meeting, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan spoke.  In particular, he stated that at one time the Republican Party of  Armenia usurped power belonging to the people. Pashinyan emphasized  that the issue of the Constitutional Court should be decided by the  people of Armenia. The prime minister also called on judges of the  Constitutional Court to resign before the president signs the  referendum law.

In turn, PACE has already spoken on this topic. PACE co-rapporteurs  for monitoring in Armenia called on Yerevan to send a bill to the  Venice Commission on amendments to the republic's constitution in  order to remove the head of the Constitutional Court and a number of  judges and wait for her answer. They noted that this opinion, in the  case of a referendum, would be valuable to all parties.