ArmInfo. Our task is not to establish control over the judicial system, but to create guarantees that the country really has an independent and impartial judicial system, which is not influenced not only by the government, but also by some other external or internal force. This was stated by the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan during a discussion at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation on February 13.
, - Prime Minister noted.
Pashinyan emphasized that the Government took the path of an anti-corruption reform strategy for the judicial system, working closely with European partners, including in technical, financial and practical matters.
Presenting in more detail the reasons for the constitutional referendum scheduled for April 5, Pashinyan indicated that the new model of the Constitution was highly praised by international partners. This model implies that the Constitutional Court should be balanced and formed according to the following principle: the President of Armenia, the government and the general meeting of judges should nominate three candidates, and the election of candidates will be held in parliament.
The next important principle is that the term of office of judges of the Constitutional Court will be 12 years, and one person can be elected as a judge of the Constitutional Court only once. The term of office of the chairman of the Constitutional Court will be 6 years, and at the same time the same person cannot occupy this position more than once.
Meanwhile, the current model of the Constitution does not provide for the election of the head of the Constitutional Court until 2035, and judges of the Constitutional Court will hold this position for 20-30 years. These provisions in the current Constitution, as Pashinyan emphasized, were achieved through legislative manipulations of the former authorities. "This is simply an unacceptable situation for us, because the existence of such a constitutional court calls into question the whole agenda of institutional reforms in the Republic of Armenia," he said, pointing out the obvious "party color" of the current Constitutional Court, adding that .
"We cannot tolerate such a situation," the prime minister emphasized, pointing out that, subject to the successful outcome of the referendum, a constitutional court would be formed in accordance with the Armenian Constitution.