Venice Commission: The draft Armenian constitution needs drastic changes

Strasbourg, 27.05.2005 – The Council of Europe’s Commission for
Democracy through Law (“Venice Commission”) has assessed the draft
constitutional amendments, as adopted by the Armenian National Assembly
in a first reading on 11 May 2005.

The members of the Venice Commission’s Working Group on constitutional
reform in Armenia expressed their deep dissatisfaction with this text,
as most of the Commission’s comments (*) have not been taken into
consideration, notably those concerning the balance of powers between
the President and the Parliament – which implies a stronger role of the
National Assembly -, the independence of the judiciary and the election
of the Mayor of Yerevan (instead of his/her appointment by the
President).

“The draft constitutional amendments need to be drastically revised
before they undergo the second reading” said Kaarlo Tuori, member of the
Venice Commission in respect of Finland. The members of the Working
Group also stated that if the text does not fully reflect the Venice
Commission’s opinions, the whole constitutional reform process would
fail to bring Armenia closer to European values and attain the aim of
further European integration.

Representatives of the Working Group will visit Armenia on 2 June to
discuss these issues with the Armenian authorities.

(*) The Venice Commission’s interim opinion on constitutional reform in
Armenia adopted in December 2004 (CDL-AD (2004) 044), is available on
the Commission’s website:

Press Release
Council of Europe Press Division
Ref: 286a05
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
pressunit@coe.int
internet:

To receive our press releases by e-mail, contact :
Council.of.Europe.Press@coe.int

A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe works to
promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops
common responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 46
member states.