If Armenia ratifies the Istanbul Convention, it will assume certain commitments. This is what expert on legal affairs of the Chamber of Advocates of Armenia Artashes Khalatyan told journalists today.

He noted that Article 81 of the Constitution of Armenia states that Armenia may take into account the provisions of the international documents that it has signed and that are binding, if ratification of the international document becomes higher than the Constitution in terms of status.

“If Armenia doesn’t restrict the rights of this or that group, that is, we don’t show discrimination, this means that we have to grant a special status to that particular group,” the expert mentioned.

Khalatyan added that, from the legal perspective, the Convention is not written well, there is no specification of terms, and one can’t understand how, for example, the state should apply the concepts of stereotypical customs and traditions.

“It should be mentioned that 10-11 states haven’t ratified the Convention, including Great Britain, which is ahead of Armenia in terms of the level of democracy. As far as domestic violence is concerned, this can be solved through amendments to domestic laws. There is a view that those opposing the Convention support violence against women, but nobody with a healthy mind can support such a phenomenon,” he concluded.