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| 12:20:43 | 27-06-2005 | Politics |

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM PROCESS IN ARMENIA: RESOLUTION 1458 (2005)

1. The Parliamentary Assembly recalls that the revision of the
Constitution is a pre-condition for the fulfilment of some of the most
important commitments that Armenia undertook upon its accession to the
Council of Europe. These include the reform of the judicial system,
local self-government reform, the introduction of an independent
ombudsman, the establishment of independent regulatory authorities
for broadcasting and the modification of the powers of and access to
the Constitutional Court. The deadlines for the completion of these
commitments, stipulated in the Assembly’s Opinion No. 221 (2000)
on Armenia’s application for membership of the Council of Europe,
have now long expired.

2. The Assembly therefore is deeply concerned that the delay in
agreeing and adopting the constitutional amendments is holding back
Armenia’s progress towards European democratic norms and standards
in key areas of political life.

3. The present Constitution, adopted in 1995, has played an essential
role in the development of democracy and its irreversibility and has
allowed Armenia to become a member of the Council of Europe. However,
its practical day-to-day implementation has increasingly revealed
serious conceptual shortcomings which have become an obstacle for the
further democratic development of the country. In the first place,
the Constitution endows the President with excessive prerogatives and
does not provide for clear separation and balance of powers within
the state structures. Equally serious is the lack of constitutional
guarantees for basic human rights, of independence of the judiciary
and of local self-government in conformity with European standards.

4. The Assembly recalls the failure of the first referendum on
constitutional amendments of 25 May 2003 and the fact that the
authorities at the time had not committed themselves to a campaign
in support of the reform as parliamentary elections were held in
parallel. The subsequent deadline fixed by the Assembly in Resolutions
1361 and 1405 (2004) for the holding of a new constitutional referendum
– not later than June 2005 – has been missed.

5. The Assembly recalls that in 2001, the Armenian authorities and
the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission)
had arrived at a mutually acceptable draft Constitution in line
with European standards. This draft, however, underwent significant
changes during its examination and adoption by Parliament and the
text submitted to referendum in May 2003 represented an important
step back. The Assembly therefore insists that such a scenario must
not be repeated with the new draft.

6. The Assembly notes with approval the renewed active and intensive
co-operation between the Armenian authorities and the Venice Commission
since 2004. It regrets, however, that after several expertises of
different subsequent drafts and after the first reading in Parliament
on 11 May 2005, the draft still needs substantial revision, according
to the Venice Commission. In its second interim opinion of 13 June
2005, the Venice Commission expressed deep disappointment with the lack
of satisfactory results, deploring the fact that the recommendations,
notably concerning the balance of powers between the President and the
Parliament, the independence of the judiciary and the election of the
Mayor of Yerevan (instead of his/her appointment by the President),
had not been taken into account.

7. The Assembly welcomes the memorandum on further co-operation
signed between the Venice Commission working group and the Armenian
authorities on 2 June 2005. It commends the Armenian authorities
on presenting an improved version of the text within the deadlines
agreed in the memorandum. However, the Assembly insists that the
final proposed amendments do comply with all the recommendations of
the Venice Commission and are finally voted as such by the National
Assembly.

8. The Assembly underlines that the new constitutional referendum
can only succeed on the basis of a very broad public consensus. In
addition to the political significance of such an act, the consensus
is also needed for technical reasons – the constitutional amendments
must be approved by more than 50% of the votes but not less than one
third of all registered voters. It is therefore important that the
voters’ lists are updated so that the necessary quorum can be achieved.

9. The Assembly deplores the breakdown of dialogue between the ruling
coalition and the opposition. It regrets that the ruling coalition
has not yet been able to agree on the three key requests of the
opposition which coincide with the recommendations of the Venice
Commission: separation and balance of powers, independent judiciary
and a real local self-government. It equally regrets the fact that
the opposition resorted to a boycott of parliamentary sittings. The
Assembly therefore strongly hopes that an agreement on the three
points will lead to the opposition returning to Parliament.

10. The Assembly points out that a proper awareness-raising campaign
in favour of the constitutional reform can only start after agreement
has been reached on the remaining problematic areas. If the latest
deadline for holding the referendum – November 2005 – is respected,
any further delay in reaching a political consensus can jeopardise
the chances of the draft being accepted by the population.

11. The Assembly reiterates its previous concerns with regard to
media pluralism and balanced political coverage in the electronic
media. The media, and television in particular, should play a major
role in allowing the public to make a well-informed choice in the
referendum. One of the main reasons for the present unsatisfactory
situation resides in the shortcomings of the Constitution with regard
to the appointment of members of the broadcasting regulatory bodies.

12. The Assembly strongly believes that, for the sake of its own people
and for the sake of its further European integration, Armenia cannot
afford another failure of the constitutional referendum. It supports
the expert advice of the Venice Commission as a clear indication
of the direction to follow and believes that if it is backed by
political will and democratic maturity, the necessary ingredients
for a successful constitutional reform would be in place.

13. The Assembly therefore calls on the Armenian authorities and the
parliamentary majority to:

i. fully implement the recommendations of the Venice Commission;

ii. undertake clear and meaningful steps in order to resume an
immediate dialogue with the opposition;

iii. adopt the text at second reading without altering the agreement
reached with the Venice Commission on the above-mentioned points
and no later than August 2005;

iv. provide live broadcasting of the parliamentary sittings where
the constitutional amendments will be discussed and voted;

v. start a well-prepared and professional awareness-raising campaign
immediately after the adoption of the text at the second reading;

vi. implement without delay the Assembly recommendations with regard
to media pluralism in order to guarantee the broadest possible
public debate;

vii. urgently update voters’ lists;

viii. hold the referendum no later than November 2005;

ix. and to provide for the coming into force of the constitutional
reform as soon as reasonably possible.

14. The Assembly calls on the opposition to stop its parliamentary
boycott and do everything possible to promote the recommendations of
the Council of Europe with regard to the constitutional reform.

15. The Assembly expresses its support for the adoption of a draft
Constitution fully complying with the Council of Europe standards
and calls on all political forces and civil society to assure the
success of the constitutional reform.

16. The Assembly resolves to observe the constitutional referendum
and, in the meantime, declares its readiness to provide any assistance
that might be needed for its preparation.