Author: Maral Chavushian

Ex-justice minister slams constitutional reforms as a ‘totally political process’

Maral Chavushian
Tert.am, Armenia
18:08 • 29.06.20

Law

The constitutional changes that took place in Armenia are solely and entirely a political process, which will potentially serve as a tool at the hands of international players, according to a former minister of justice.

In an interview with Tert.am, Arpine Hovhannisyan, now the president of the Legal Education and Oversight NGO, refrained from any comments on the legal consequences of the reforms, considering the whole process unjustified.

The former minister noted that even "illegal constitutional processes" would require corresponding changes in the law "On the Constitutional Court" to allow for the procedure of terminating judges' authority based on individual legal acts.

"Unless it has been carried out, those judges' authority will not be terminated," she said.

Asked to comment on the possible impact of the reforms on Armenia's international reputation, the former minister said she believes that the country will pay a heavy price in the mid to long run.

"It is a tool at the hands of different international organizations and different 'players'. They will be used against the Republic of Armenia, because the institutions which are in principle responsible for ensuring rule of law and democracy in the European domain, have already given their response, issuing a negative evaluation which will have a landmark role in both the individual domain, i.e. – when considering the process at the European Court of Human Rights, and during observations by monitoring bodies," she noted.

Hovhannisyan said she regrets that Armenia's international image largely suffered as a result of the controversial processes. "We have replenished the ranks of such countries against which the ECHR has passed similar rulings with respect to anti-constitutional processes. I am sure the judges will seek protection of their individual interests," she added.

Erdogan Creates Institution to Deny Armenian Genocide

Maral Chavushian
International Christian Concern – Persecution.org

06/27/2020 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – Turkey’s state-run media has announced the outcome of a five-hour Presidential High Advisory Board meeting held on June 16th which addressed the Armenian genocide. Following this meeting, President Erdogan decided to develop a so-called “new autonomous and civilian structure” which would focus on the genocide.

The Armenian genocide murdered, deported, or forcibly converted over 1.5 million Christians living in Turkey’s predecessor, the Ottoman Empire. Turkey has refused to acknowledge their country’s role in this, despite international recognition and scholarship saying otherwise. The authorities also continue policies which helped facilitate the genocide. Turkey is currently engaged in a military conflict that has raised their sensitivity to Armenian genocide recognition.

The new institution presented by President Erdogan would conduct research and develop strategies to refute the Armenian genocide. This proposal was supposed to have been discussed three months earlier, when Armenians opened lawsuits in the US courts related to the genocide, but was delayed because of COVID-19. Since most institutions in Turkey are state-run, there is no expectation that this expectation that this institution will be autonomous from government interference.

Joint session of Security Councils of Armenia and Artsakh launched in Yerevan

Maral Chavushian

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 12:32,

YEREVAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS. The joint session of the Security Councils of Armenia and Artsakh is being held in Yerevan  on June 19 co-chaired by President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the Artsakh Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The session is attended by Speakers of Parliament of Armenia and Artsakh Ararat Mirzoyan and Artur Tovmasyan.

Before passing to the agenda, the Armenian PM and the Artsakh President delivered remarks.

The speeches will be available later.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Lawyer: If Armenia CC deems Article 300.1 unconstitutional, ex-President Kocharyan case must be dropped immediately

Maral Chavushian
News.am, Armenia

14:49, 19.06.2020

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."

ECHR advisory opinion on Kocharyan case not subject to interpretation but translation – Gevorg Kostanyan

Maral Chavushian
Panorama, Armenia
June 9 2020

Armenia’s former Prosecutor General, Doctor of Law Gevorg Kostanyan is concerned with the fact that acting Prosecutor General has commented on the ECHR advisory opinion concerning charges brought against former President Robert Kocharyan. “The Constitutional Court of Armenia is the only and unique addressee of the ECRH advisory opinion and only the Constitutional Court may assess the decision of the European Court,”  Kostanyan told an online interview on the 2nd TV Channel on Monday.

In Kostanyan’s words, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Prosecutor General himself have no capacity to elaborate on the decision of the European court. He then suggested that the ECHR advisory opinion is not subject to interpretations but to translation only.

“There is no need to interpret the advisory opinion as the document clearly sets all the principles, resolutions and approaches the Constitutional Court should consider to apply. Any interpretation  – be it from attorneys, state bodies or any other figure – has no relevance,” stressed Kostanyan, who served as Representative of the Republic of Armenia before the Court from 2004 to 2017.

He next noted that the advisory opinion contains references to precedents  and previous judgements thus providing the scope for the Constitutional Court in analyzing the case. In his words, the Constitutional Court may not go beyond the scope of those precedents which have been developed over the past 50 years and outline the main approaches. 

To note, Robert  Kocharyan has been charged under Article 300.1 of the 2009 Criminal Code ( “Overthrow of the Constitutional order”) with offences which were alleged to have been committed in relation to events which took place in February and March 2008, when protests broke out over a disputed presidential election. At that time, a different provision of the former Criminal Code, Article 300 (“usurpation of power”), was in force.

Speaking of the provisions set out in the advisory opinion, Kostanyan recalled the ECHR reference to the Criminal Code article that cites another legal act, the Constitution which means that the requirements of clarity and foreseeability should be applicable to respective norms of the Constitution.

“It is explicit that the Article 300.1 contained a reference to Articles 1 to 5 and 6 § 1 of the Armenian Constitution of 2015. In the version of 2008 Constitutions, those articles didn’t exist in their current sequence and content. Thus it is unacceptable to speak of the clarity and foreseeability  of the mentioned Article,” said Kostanyan.

Another restriction set by the ECHR for interpretation refers to the practical implementation of the legal norm.

“That is to say no derivation should for the application of Article 300.1 on the basis of formed practice in the country. In Armenia, we had the application of  Article 301.1 when in 2009 or 2010 the Prosecutor General’s Office quitted the criminal prosecution and the Court acquitted the defendants. We have the practice, and the ECHR set the rule for the Constitutional Court to not leave that practice,” said Kostanyan.

To remind, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered an  on former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan’s case sought by the Constitutional Court of Armenia on May 29. 

https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2020/06/09/ECHR-Gevorg-Kostanyan/2306729

Syrian Airlines returns to Armenia as first flight in 8 years lands in Yerevan

Maral Chavushian
Panorama, Armenia
June 5 2020

After 8-years’s suspension, the first flight of the Syrian Airlines landed at Yerevan International Airport coming from Damascus International Airport, San news agency reported.

The Transport Ministry said on Friday that the Syrian Airlines ran the first flight from Damascus towards Armenia on Thursday with a plane, Airbus A320, carrying 150 passengers on board after eight –year hiatus.

Music: Armenia’s Masha Mnjoyan impresses the jury at The Voice Australia

Maral Chavushian

Public Radio of Armenia

Masha Mnjoyan, winner of inaugural The Voice Armenia, debuted at the The Voice Australia today.

Masha earned a standing ovation after turning the chairs of all four judges during her blind audition.

She delivered a rousing rendition of Celine Dion’s All By Myself before picking Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child fame as her judge for the Australian version of The Voice.

Boy George, Delta Goodrem and Boy George all made impassioned pleas for her to join their team, however Mnjoyan ultimately picked Grammy Award-winner Rowland.

Masha's Song

There's a reason Masha Mnjoyan is an All Star, what a performance!

Gepostet von The Voice Australia am Sonntag, 31. Mai 2020

Masha is currently studying in Australia and has spent 18 months in the country. She first visited Australia in 2014 with a group of Armenian singers.

“From the very beginning I really loved the country, the cities, the people, my community, Australians – everything was amazing. I’ve been travelling for a long time, many different countries in Europe and America, but Australia was different from that,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“In Armenia I won The Voice in 2013, it was my biggest success in my country, but at some point I thought it was not enough, I needed more, I did all that was possible in this country – a small, beautiful country, but the market is not as big as Australia. So I decided that, I love this country, I love the people, I have family here too, and I need to try, otherwise I’ll regret it,” the singer added.


Pashinyan highlights need for modernizing farming businesses, changing mentality

Maral Chavushian

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 14:28,

YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says he believes Armenia has one problem in agriculture, and the problem is the issue of knowledge.

“If we solve the issues raised by the farmers, nevertheless it won’t solve the important issue. Why, because one year the harvest will be a lot more than needed and this will result in prices of the harvest decreasing so much that the farmer won’t have income, one year the harvest will be less, so less that the farmer will again not have income, then one other year there will be hailstorms, freezing temperatures, all these are equal problems. The issue is the following, what is the solution of this problem. I maintain my opinion that the solution is the change of mentality,” Pashinyan said after touring agricultural businesses in Ararat Province.

He also highlighted the need for changing the culture of land cultivation because the existing culture won’t allow farmers to get rich and prosper.

“Modern-day farmers aren’t thinking how much harvest they will have, they are planning how much they need for the volume to be manageable. The harvest in the intensive gardens of the modern world are not depending on weather or other factors, they depend on planning,” Pashinyan said.

“We must switch to modern farming technologies, intensive gardening, business-model based agriculture, consolidation of lands, and this must be our strategy”.

Pashinyan said he notices progress as farmers themselves are admitting that there is an issue of knowledge and skills.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenia MFA: Threats of war or military posturing are traditional components of Azerbaijan’s destructive stance

Maral Chavushian
News.am, Armenia
Armenia MFA: Threats of war or military posturing are traditional components of Azerbaijan's destructive stance Armenia MFA: Threats of war or military posturing are traditional components of Azerbaijan's destructive stance

15:29, 21.05.2020
                  

Anna Naghdalyan, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Armenia, has issued a comment on the statement issued by the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan regarding the inauguration of the newly elected President of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in Shushi town. Naghdalyan’s comment reads as follows: 

It’s worth mentioning that the threats of war or military posturing communicated either through statements or large-scale military exercises in violations of international commitments, represent traditional components of Azerbaijan's destructive stance, which has no impact either on the positions of the Armenian sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue or on the ongoing democratic processes in Artsakh. Nevertheless, they definitely undermine the establishment of an environment conducive to peace, which is necessary for the consideration of substantive issues. Armenia is committed to an exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Once again congratulating the people of Artsakh on the formation of authorities as result of democratic processes, we would like to reiterate that the Republic of Armenia will continue to closely cooperate with the new authorities, which represent the people of Artsakh in the peace process, and in this context we will consistently protect the exercise of the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination without any limitations.