Ishkhanyan and Sakunts voiced opposing opinions on constitutional  amendments

ArmInfo.Chairman of the Helsinki Committee of Armenia Avetik Ishkhanyan made a statement regarding the constitutional amendments approved by the parliament today.

On his Facebook page, Ishkhanyan in particular noted that the prime  minister, taking advantage of the epidemiological situation, is  "carrying out an anti-constitutional coup". In this regard, he called  on parliamentary opposition factions to "save the situation", <If  they do not jointly appeal to the Constitutional Court, then, along  with others, they will be responsible to future generations, and  lawmakers from these factions will no longer have the moral right to  talk about any values. 

Meanwhile, in an interview with factor.am, the head of the Helsinki  Citizens Assembly Vanadzor office, human rights activist Arthur  Sakunts noted that not only the Constitutional Court is legitimate in  Armenia, but the Constitution itself, which should have been  fundamentally amended, in his opinion. According to him, this is what  caused the deadlock situation. Meanwhile, the Venice Commission, as  was noted, understood the true context in making its consultation  opinion on constitutional amendments. He also pointed out the  importance of enhancing the interaction of the Armenian side with  international partners in this matter. As for the allegations that  constitutional changes are a process of state capture, Sakunts  criticized them severely and noted that this was stated by forces  that themselves had participated in the process of state and  government capture for years.

On June 22, the draft constitutional amendments were adopted by the  Parliament in first reading. According to the amendments, those  judges of the Constitutional Court who have been working for 12 years  or more will be expelled from the Constitutional Court, and the  chairman of the court Hrayr Tovmasyan will continue to remain in his  post, but he will not be the chairman of the Constitutional Court.  Opposition parties "Prosperous Armenia" and "Bright Armenia>  boycotted this meeting.  To recall, in May this year, RA Minister of  Justice Rustam Badasyan addressed the Secretary General of the  Council of Europe, sending <European Commission for Democracy through  Law> (Venice commission) questions regarding the resolution of the  crisis that arose around Constitutional Court of Armenia. The Venice  Commission presented a positive opinion on three legal issues put  forward by the authorities, emphasized the legitimate aim of the  proposed decisions and their compliance with European standards.   "The Government of Armenia expresses satisfaction with the effective  cooperation with the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission and  the efforts made that are aimed at the legitimate goal of overcoming  the crisis around the Constitutional Court in the current situation  in accordance with European standards," the RA Ministry of Justice  said in a statement issued earlier.