YEREVAN. – Unless the Armenian Constitutional Court’s (CC) April 2 decision enters into force, we will not work with the authorities on the designing of a new law. 

Davit Manukyan, a member of the “Dem.Am [I am against]” civic initiative—which opposes the mandatory component of the new pension law in Armenia—, noted the aforementioned at a press conference on Saturday.

“First, we will fight so that the CC decision enters into force. Subsequently, we will work on the new law. But we will start the fight from the bill in this case, too, so that we would not face the same problems afterwards,” he said.  

Manukyan added that PM Hovik Abrahamyan’s arrival in the Presidential Palace on Friday, and his speaking with the protesting activists there, was his personal decision, and the movement members clearly presented their decision in connection with the CC ruling.

“Solely the institution of the President [of Armenia] can carry out the decisions of the Constitution. The CC decision must be carried and the unlawful ‘fundraising’ must be stopped forthwith,” Davit Manukyan stated.

In turn, likewise “Dem.Am” member Arsen Manukyan stressed that they demand, not ask, that the CC ruling is carried out.  

“I will consider the matter resolved [only] when I sense that change upon myself,” Manukyan added.

The “Dem.Am” members stated that the civic initiative will continue the fight irrespective of Abrahamyan’s statements.

The “Dem.Am” civic initiative members assembled outside the Presidential Palace on Friday, to demand from the President to carry out the CC’s April 2 ruling. Subsequently, newly appointed PM Hovik Abrahamyan came to speak with the activists, and he pledged to make a decision that will be to the people’s liking.

On April 2, the Constitutional Court (CC) of Armenia declared unconstitutional a whole series of articles in the new Law on Funded Pensions. Despite this ruling, however, the state-run financial institutions still oblige the employers to make mandatory funded pension cuts from the salaries of their employees. The respective reasoning is that the CC gave the parliament and the government until September 30 to amend the aforesaid law’s provisions that were deemed unconstitutional.