The President of Armenia doesn’t have the power to make an official comment on the Constitution. This is what the Staff of the President of Armenia reported in response to the question whether the President has the right to serve in office after submitting his resignation letter. Referring to part 2 of Article 123 of the Constitution of Armenia according to which the President follows observance of the Constitution, Armenian News-NEWS.am also asked whether the Prime Minister performing the duties of Prime Minister after resignation doesn’t contradict the Constitution of Armenia.

In response, the Staff of the President reminded that the President performs his functions through the powers prescribed by the Constitution and informed that the Constitutional Court’s decision of March 31, 2020 states that accepting the resignation of the government is one of the mandatory powers of the President of Armenia (Article 130 of the Constitution).

On April 25, Nikol Pashinyan resigned and informed that snap elections will be held. He also declared that he will perform the duties of Prime Minister fully as provided for by legislation and the Constitution.

Pashinyan’s term of office as acting Prime Minister sparked serious discussions among the public, particularly the legal community. Some lawyers insist that, by virtue of the Constitution and the existing legislation, Pashinyan isn’t the acting Prime Minister of Armenia, and by serving as acting Prime Minister, he has seized power and all the decisions signed by him during this period are null and void, and his orders won’t be subject to fulfillment by public administration bodies. However, the authorities are certain that the procedure complies with the Constitution.