RPA and ARF Dashnaktsutyun accuse Armenian authorities of usurping  the judiciary

ArmInfo. The executive body of the Republican Party of Armenia and the supreme body of the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" issued statements in which they accused the Armenian authorities of usurping the judiciary.

Thus, the RPA statement received by ArmInfo, in particular, states:  "Analyzing the events of the new phase of the seizure of power in  Armenia, which began in April 2018 and emphasizing that democracy is  impossible without respect and the rule of law (How people restrict  their government to the Constitution , so any state power is limited  by the Constitution), we note that gross neglect and violation of the  highest law of the country is not only a departure from the values of  the rule of law, but also a dangerous path to anarchy.

Confirming the statement of the Venice Commission that the  Constitutional Courts are the guardians of the constitutional order,  and the immutability of the judges of the Constitutional Court is  called upon to become the mainstay of the political majority of the  day for judges of the Constitutional Court, we consider it  unacceptable that any new government will be able to replace the  current judge, "the RPA statement said.  At the same time, the RPA  Executive Body recalled that the term of office of a judge, and even  more so the reduction of his term of office by retroactive force, is  directly related and affects the principle of independence of a  judge.

"We affirm that the proposed model of constitutional amendments will  not only allow the formation of the Constitutional Court by one  political force, but will also politicize the Constitutional Court  for many years to come. Moreover, we believe that tolerance of the  infringement of the independence of the Constitutional Court  threatens and threatens independence the entire judicial system.  Recall that the termination of powers of judges of the Constitutional  Court, who have been in office for 12 years, immediately and without  transitional mechanisms is contrary to the approaches of both the  Venice Commission and the European Court of Human Rights, "the RPA  emphasized, noting that refusal to send the bill for consideration by  the Constitutional Court after its adoption on first reading - gross  violation of the Constitution, which makes the whole process illegal,  just as refusing to send an already final document for signing to the  president is an encroachment on the powers of the president of the  Republic and is aimed at excessive centralization of power in the  hands of the ruling political majority.  "What happened in Armenia is  an appropriation of power, since the majority of the National  Assembly, in a manner not provided for by the Constitution, takes  over the powers of the Constitutional Court and the president of the  country. All the criminal and political responsibility for this  outrageous encroachment on statehood lies with Nicola Pashinyan  himself, and those MPs who voted in favor of the package. By this  step, the Armenian authorities violated international obligations  undertaken by the country and inflicted further damage to the  reputation of Armenia. 4 The process of state destruction will  inevitably lead to irreparable losses, the only way to avoid them is  to remove Nikol Pashinyan from power, " - summed up at the RPA.

Meanwhile, in a statement by the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun", it emphasizes:  "A hasty and irresponsible submission, discussion and adoption of  constitutional changes in the National Assembly indicates that: the  political authorities consistently ignore the country's Basic Law  and, on the basis of personal and political interests, fulfill their  desire to have a pocket court, taking advantage of the state of  emergency declared under the pretext of overcoming the coronavirus  that has swept the country, the political authorities openly decide  to seize one of the three balancing branches of the Constitution -  which has a key role in the judicial system of the Constitutional  Court, which obviously contains elements of a particularly serious  crime .Ђ­вЁЄ®­бвЁвгжЁ®­­лҐ аҐиҐ­Ёп, ЇаЁ­пвлҐ Ќ жЁ®­ «м­л¬ б®Ўа ­ЁҐ¬  Ї® Є®­бвЁвгжЁ®­­л¬ Ё§¬Ґ­Ґ­Ёп¬, ­Ґ®Ўе®¤Ё¬® ᤥ« вм ЇаҐ¤¬Ґв®¬  ®Ўб㦤Ґ­Ёп ў Љ®­бвЁвгжЁ®­­®¬ б㤥.

In this regard, we welcome the position and initiative of the  Prosperous Armenia parliamentary faction, and urge the Bright Armenia  parliamentary faction to join this initiative.

We are addressing the president of the republic as the head of state  to express a clear position on the indicated anti-constitutional  process and the necessary actions. "

It should be noted that before the velvet revolution, RPA and ARF  were in a coalition.  As ArmInfo already reported, the National  Assembly of Armenia in the second and final reading adopted the draft  amendments to the Constitution of Armenia. 89 deputies voted "for"  the adoption of the bill, against-0.

It should be noted that in the meeting, on the agenda of which there  was one issue - amending Article 213 of the Constitution of Armenia,  the opposition factions Prosperous Armenia and Enlightened Armenia  did not participate, which boycotted him.

According to the proposed amendments, the powers of judges of the  Constitutional Court, who have been in office for more than 12 years,  must be terminated. After the vacant posts of judges are taken, the  election of a new head of the Constitutional Court will take place.

Today it has also become known that legislative amendments will get  legal force after they are approved during the second reading and  will not be presented for signature to the president, as it should.   "Changes to the law <On the Rules of the National Assembly>, to the  law <On the <Constitutional Court> and to the Judicial Code will not  be placed on the table of the Armenian President Armen Sargsyan for  signature," the legislative body said earlier at a meeting of the  Permanent Parliamentary Commission on State legal issues co-author of  the legislative initiative, deputy from the ruling bloc <My Step>  Vahagn Hovakimyan.

It should be noted that on February 6 the National Assembly of the  Republic of Armenia adopted a decision on submitting draft amendments  to the Constitution to the referendum. 88 deputies voted for this  decision, against 15. It is a question of introducing amendments to  Article 213 of the Constitution, providing for the dissolution of the  Constitutional Court. A referendum on constitutional amendments was  called for April 5 this year. However, because of the coronavirus  epidemic, he had to be postponed. As a result, the deputies decided  to amend the Constitution themselves.

We also note that the PAP has already announced the beginning of the  collection of signatures to forward the bill to the Constitutional  Court to verify its constitutionality.