President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian has nominated lawyer Vahe Grigoryan as a candidate for judge of the Constitutional Court.

The Staff of the President of Armenia has issued a statement on this, and the statement reads as follows:

“It has been at least a year since the President of Armenia became engaged in the process of nominating a candidate for judge of the Constitutional Court to the National Assembly for the purpose of filling the vacancy of judge of the Constitutional Court within the scope of the powers reserved to the President by the Constitution.

The President of Armenia has implemented the process with responsibility, publicly and democratically, staying true to his constitutional powers, observing constitutional norms and taking as a basis the principles of impartiality and objectivity. To receive recommendations for potential candidates and opinions on the contenders, the President of Armenia has undertaken several procedures not contradicting the law, me twith several specialists of the legal field and reputable representatives of the legal community, including with circles of scholars and lawyers.

Over the past year, even though the acceptance of applications has been announced several times, there has been a very limited number of potential candidates, and the election of a candidate for judge of the Constitutional Court is restricted to only a few lawyers who meet the requirements for the position.

Attaching importance to the effectiveness of the legal system and of the work of the Constitutional Court, taking into consideration the fact that the election of a candidate for judge of the Constitutional Court cannot become an endless process and become a subject for political bargain or speculations, based on the results of the discussions held with representatives of the legal community and the potential candidates for judges of the Constitutional Court over the past two days, the President of Armenia nominates Vahe Grigoryan.

The President of Armenia hopes that, by being elected judge of the Constitutional Court, Vahe Grigoryan will make his contributions to the increase of effectiveness of the activities of the Constitutional Court, full implementation of constitutional justice and full exercise of the powers reserved to the judge of the Higher Court by law.

P.S.: Taking into consideration the experience of the past year, the President of Armenia deems it necessary to consider the possibility of appointment of a judge of the Constitutional Court by the President of Armenia by amending the existing procedures, referring to the logic of the regulations existing in Article 138 of the Constitution (Temporary Appointment of Officials).