A little while ago, Chairman of the Chamber of Advocates of Armenia Ara Zohrabyan received the response from the Staff of the President of Armenia and posted it on his Facebook page. The response reads as follows:

“After receiving the Prime Minister’s justifications for not accepting the objections of the President of Armenia, the President of Armenia informed that he won’t sign the draft decree and will, through the general procedure established under Article 169 of the Constitution, apply to the Constitutional Court with the request to determine the constitutionality of the Law on Military Service and Status of Servicemen. The President of Armenia hopes that rendering of the relevant decision by the Constitutional Court will lead to legal certainty and will help solve the crisis. Currently, the issue of dismissal of Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan is within the scope of competence and discretion of the Prime Minister in terms of legal procedures, constitutional liability and political consequences.”

Zohrabyan added the following: “A little while ago, we received the response of the Staff of the President. Unfortunately, the President chose to be venturesome. As a citizen and advocate, my colleagues and I will start exposing the fears of the President starting tomorrow.”