YEREVAN. – Since the Constitutional Court of Armenia has received the opinions of the European Court of Human Rights and of the Venice Commission, this means that the proceedings will be resumed at the Constitutional Court. Aram Vardevanyan, an attorney of Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan, stated this in a press conference Friday.
Hovhannes Khudoyan, another one of Kocharyan’s lawyers, noted as follows, in particular: "We are talking about the definition of the Article [300.1 of the Criminal Code] where it notes: ‘The actual termination of such-and-such norms of the Constitution.’"
Asked whether if the Constitutional Court makes a decision in favor of Kocharyan, will it have a consultative nature for the court, Khudoyan answered. "If the Constitutional Court recognizes Article 300.1 as running counter to the Constitution, the criminal case is immediately subject to termination. The Venice Commission has set out principles whose application by the Constitutional Court could lead to declaring the article unconstitutional.”
And Aram Vardevanyan said: "The Venice Commission has stated that 'violation of the Constitution' cannot in itself be considered an overthrow of the constitutional order. The Constitutional Court decision in connection with the Criminal Code have a different procedure pursuant to the very law on the Constitutional Court. In that case, it happens automatically."