Armenia’s top court applies to Venice Commission over law on forfeiture of illegal assets

Panorama
Armenia – July 29 2022

The Constitutional Court of Armenia has applied to the Venice Commission, requesting its advisory opinion on the controversial law on forfeiture of illegal assets, lawyer Ara Ghazaryan said on Thursday.

“The matter concerns the provisions which have been much talked about since the draft law was adopted, including the presumption of illegal origin of the property, the regulation of placing the burden of proof on the defendant, the lack of a standard of proof in the law, and their contradiction with human rights (in this case, property rights),” he wrote on Facebook.

"In general, the problem is getting complicated and tangled up, which was predicted by many experts. At the same time, on the basis of what law did the Constitutional Court request an advisory opinion of an international organization? Shouldn't all the initiated court cases under the law be suspended?" Ghazaryan said.