Lawyer of Concern Dialog Law Firm, advocate Martik Martirosyan has published an analysis related to the legal consequences of the process of “dismissing” the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia.

In his analysis, Martirosyan states the following: “Launching the process of dismissing the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia is initially unconstitutional, and the acts adopted by the Prime Minister and President are null and void and not subject to enforcement, and enforcement may lead to liability. According to part 3 of Article 155 of the Constitution of Armenia, the highest military official of the Armed Forces is the chief of the General Staff who shall be appointed by the President of Armenia upon the Prime Minister’s recommendation. As far as Article 133 of the Constitution is concerned, according to which the President of Armenia, upon the Prime Minister’s recommendation, shall appoint or dismiss the top commanders of the Armed Forces and other troops in cases and as prescribed by law, it should be noted that it doesn’t concern the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia since, as already mentioned, the issues related to appointment of the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces are regulated by Article 155 of the Constitution which states that the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces shall be appointed for a term prescribed by law.

According to the Law on Defense, the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces shall be appointed for a term of five years, meaning that the chief of the General Staff can’t be dismissed before expiry of the term of office.

As far as the regulations prescribed by the Law of Armenia on Military Service and Servicemen are concerned, Article 40 lays down the grounds for dismissing servicemen (being appointed to other position, dismissing from military service, etc.).

Thus, it’s safe to record that the competence to dismiss the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces is not reserved for the Prime Minister and President by the Constitution and there is no legal ground by which the powers of the chief may be terminated. So, the presidential decree on dismissing the chief of the General Staff is null and void.”