According to Article 1 of the Law on Legal Regime of State of Emergency, a state of emergency is declared only in case of imminent danger to the constitutional order of the Republic of Armenia, INCLUDING attempts to forcibly change or overthrow the constitutional order of the Republic of Armenia, seizure of power, armed unrest, mass disorders, national, racial, religious conflicts accompanied by forcible actions, acts of terrorism, the seizure or blockade of special objects, the creation and operation of illegal armed unions, the EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. Armenia constitution specialist Gohar Meloyan noted this on Facebook.

In particular, she wrote:

"SUMMARY ANALYSIS!

One of the most controversial legal questions lately is whether the novel coronavirus that is spreading in the Republic of Armenia can serve as a basis for declaring a state of emergency and postponing the [constitutional] referendum on April 5.

1. In accordance with Article 120 of the Constitution, in the event of imminent danger to the constitutional order, the Government shall declare a state of emergency, take action arising out of the situation, and address the people with a message thereon.

 

According to Article 1 of the Law on Legal Regime of State of Emergency, a state of emergency is declared only in case of imminent danger to the constitutional order of the Republic of Armenia, INCLUDING attempts to forcibly change or overthrow the constitutional order of the Republic of Armenia, seizure of power, armed unrest, mass disorders, national, racial, religious conflicts accompanied by forcible actions, acts of terrorism, the seizure or blockade of special objects, the creation and operation of illegal armed unions, the EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.

Pursuant to Article 41 of the Law on New Legal Acts, the normative legal act is interpreted taking into account the purpose of the adopting body when adopting the normative legal act, given the literal meaning of the words and expressions contained therein, the context of the whole article, chapter, section, regulation of the provisions of the normative legal act, for the implementation of which the act was adopted. Consequently, it is obvious that the state of emergency is also a direct threat to the constitutional order, and therefore a ground for declaring a state of emergency.

At the same time, Article 1 of the Law on the Protection of the Population in Emergencies defines the concept of an emergency, that is, a major accident in a particular area or facility, a major natural hazard, a man-made, natural or ecological (environmental) disaster, an EPIDEMIC, a pestilence (epizooty), a state of affairs caused by the widespread infectious disease  of plants and crops (epiphyte), the use of types of weapons that leads or may lead to the loss of human lives and significant damage to human health and the environment—major material loss and disruption to normal living conditions for people and the environment.

In the context of the foregoing, it is noteworthy that the World Health Organization has announced that the spread of the novel coronavirus worldwide has acquired a pandemic character, that is, an unusually strong epidemic.

2. At the same time, the Law on the Legal Regime of State of Emergency stipulates that a state of emergency is declared only in cases where the ELIMINATION of the immediate threat to the constitutional order of the Republic of Armenia is IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT IT.

That is, a state of emergency cannot be declared if the corresponding danger can be eliminated without the government taking such a step.

According to the Law on Structure and Activities of the Government, policies for provision of medical care, protection and other necessary actions in emergency situations are developed and implemented by the Ministries of Health and Emergency Situations, and therefore also bear the responsibility for establishing a state of emergency and implementing appropriate measures.

3. At the same time a question arises as to how the issue of the referendum on the constitutional amendments, set for April 5, will be settled in case of declaring a state of emergency.

According to Article 208 of the Constitution, no referendum is held during an emergency. Pursuant to Article 12 of the Constitutional Law on Referendum, a referendum that is set but not held because of a state of emergency or martial law shall be held no sooner than 50 and no later than 65 days after the end of the martial law or state of emergency. The President of the Republic shall appoint a referendum within a three-day period following the end of the state of emergency or martial law.

That is to say, in case of declaring a state of emergency, the referendum appointed on April 5 will be postponed by the force of the Constitution and reappointed only after the end of the state of emergency. So if the government-declared state of emergency ends on April 5, then the referendum will be rescheduled for early June, for example, between June 7 and 14.

4. In parallel to this, I would like to touch on another important issue. The Constitution provides for the POSSIBILITY OF LIMITATIONS ON BASIC RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS DURING EMERGENCIES. However, the restrictions imposed by the government during a state of emergency cannot be an end in itself and must be consistent with the principle of being PROPORTIONATE enshrined in the Constitution, that is, be capable of achieving the purpose of declaring a useful and necessary state of emergency. If, in this case, the purpose of declaring a state of emergency is to effectively fight the novel coronavirus and prevent its further spread, then the curtailing of freedom of speech or media activity does not fit within the above stated purpose, therefore, the state of emergency that may be declared cannot provide for curtailing of freedom of expression, setting of certain obstructions, etc. before separate publications, broadcasting by way of the mass media."