ArmInfo. President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio sent a response letter to former President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia Hrayr Tovmasyan.
According to the press service of the Constitutional Court, the letter says in particular: "I closely followed developments related to constitutional changes in Armenia. I regret that they do not comply with the clear recommendations of the Venice Commission. I can only urge respect for the Constitution. This is a fundamental requirement of the rule of law>.
To recall, on June 24, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian signed a package of bills, including those related to amendments to the law on the Constitutional Court. The relevant amendments were approved by the National Assembly at an extraordinary meeting on June 22. According to the amendments, the powers of the judges of the Constitutional Court Felix Tokhyan, Hrant Nazarian and Alvina Gyulumyan, who had been in office for more than 12 years, were terminated. Already former head of the Constitutional Court Hrayr Tovmasyan will continue to work as a judge.
The chairman and deputy chairman of the Constitutional Court will be elected after the approval of the full composition of the Court (9 judges). Moreover, the current composition of 6 judges is sufficient for the legality of the convened meetings, that is, the activities of the Constitutional Court will not be interrupted. According to the law, in the absence of the chairman and deputy chairman of the Constitutional Court, the powers of the chairman are temporarily performed by the oldest judge, that is, Ashot Khachatryan.
