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March 29
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YEREVAN. – The Constitutional Court (CC) of Armenia on Monday will continue the hearings on the lawsuit, pursuant to which several provisions in the controversial Law On Funded Pensions—in particular, its mandatory component—are contested. 

The arguments by the defendant, specifically the Central Bank representative, will be presented on Monday. 

The CC had commenced the lawsuit hearings on March 28.

Opposition ARF Dashnaktsutyun MP Artsvik Minasyan, human rights activist Artak Zeynalyan, and attorney Meri Khachaturyan had filed the aforementioned lawsuit.

The new funded pension plan, which formally came into force in Armenia on January 1, 2014, is mandatory for those born in and after 1974 and voluntary for those born before 1974. In line with this plan, 5 to 10 percent of the monthly salaries in Armenia will be deducted and mandatorily be allocated to cumulative pension funds; the latter will be reimbursed as pensions once a person turns 63 years old. 

On January 24, however, the Constitutional Court decided to suspend the execution of some components in the Law on Funded Pensions pending the start of the hearings on March 28.  Notwithstanding this, some employers already are deducting the mandatory pension payment from the salaries of their employees.        

The law caused dissatisfaction among Armenia’s civil society, and therefore paved the way for the establishment of the “Dem Em [I am against]” civic initiative, which opposes the new pension law in Armenia

The four non-ruling-coalition parliamentary factions—i.e., the Armenian National Congress, Prosperous Armenia, ARF Dashnaktsutyun, and Heritage—likewise are against this new law, and they declare that its mandatory component is unconstitutional.

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