ArmInfo.The RA Constitutional Court has ruled unconstitutional the order of the RA minister of health for mandatory paid PCR tests for unvaccinated employees.
President of the RA Constitutional Court Arman Dilanyan stated: "To rule the word combination `at his/her expense` in the sentence `the employee shall undergo a PCR test at his/her expense` in conflict with Articles 1, 2, 6 and 39 of the RA Constitution and invalid."
According to the CC ruling, the RA minister of health is not entitled to list the employees obliged to pay for PCR tests.
The ruling is not to be appealed and is effective immediately after being issued. Late this September, the Armenia opposition parliamentary faction applied to the Constitutional Court for invalidating the order of the RA Ministry of Health. The MP Aram Vardevaryan said that the faction does not object to vaccination, but it is up to individuals to decide.
"Every day we must see the government explaining the aim of vaccination to citizens - and a social advertising campaign is one of the means. But forcing citizens to receive vaccines or undergo PCR tests every 14 days at their own expense, with such minimum monthly wages (AMD 68,000 or about $150) in the country, is coercion. Why does not the government incur the expenses?"