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.