ArmInfo. The Chamber of Advocates of Armenia made a statement regarding the decision of the Parliament on submitting draft amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia for referendum.
The Council of the Chamber of Lawyers of the Republic of Armenia notes that the rule of law and the separation and balance of powers, which have been enshrined in Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of the Republic, are of key importance in the establishment of the rule of law. <The initiation of a number of NA deputies of amendments to the Constitution, providing for the termination of powers of representatives of the judiciary (exercising constitutional justice) by the legislative branch, is nothing more than an attempt to violate Article 4 of the Constitution. The termination of the powers of judges of the Constitutional Court by the National Assembly directly contradicts parts 8 and 9 of Article 164 of the Constitution, which exhaustively list the grounds for the termination of powers of judges>, the statement emphasizes. According to the Chamber, the adoption of the package of amendments may cast doubt on the independence of the judiciary in Armenia. It is also noted that the draft constitutional amendments bypassing the Constitutional Court contradicts paragraph 2 of article 168 and part 2 of article 169 of the Constitution.
The Council of the Chamber of Advocates calls on the deputies of the National Assembly, the Government and political forces to concentrate on ensuring the further progress of judicial and legal reforms, including, in particular, removing obstacles to the professional activities of lawyers, ensuring the right to a trial within a reasonable time, increasing confidence in the courts, introducing an effective system for monitoring the implementation decisions of the Constitutional Court, the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Cassation, and so on. The Chamber of Lawyers expresses its readiness to closely cooperate with state bodies in various formats regarding the implementation of these real reforms.
The day before, the Armenian parliament decided to submit draft amendments to the Constitution to the referendum. Thus, this question is referred actually to the will of the citizens of the country. During the meeting, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan spoke. In particular, he stated that at one time the Republican Party of Armenia usurped power belonging to the people. Pashinyan emphasized that the issue of the Constitutional Court should be decided by the people of Armenia. The prime minister also called on judges of the Constitutional Court to resign before the president signs the referendum law.
In turn, PACE has already spoken on this topic. PACE co-rapporteurs for monitoring in Armenia called on Yerevan to send a bill to the Venice Commission on amendments to the republic's constitution in order to remove the head of the Constitutional Court and a number of judges and wait for her answer. They noted that this opinion, in the case of a referendum, would be valuable to all parties.