YEREVAN. – President of Armenia’s National Assembly Ararat Mirzoyan said the Armenian citizens are concerned over with the decision of the Constitutional Court based on the petition filed by second president Robert Kocharyan who is charged with an attempt to overthrow the Constitutional order as well as the appeal of the Constitutional Court to the Venice Commission and the European Court of Human Rights,.
“Given the situation in the Constitutional Court and the situation around it, I cannot but share the following public concerns on the matter.
Firstly, regarding the decision of the Constitutional Court as of September 4. When considering the case and making a decision based on the petition Robert Kocharyan, the Constitutional Court did not consider the case properly and, without reasonable justification, rejected the appeal of a member of the Court on the basis of the impossibility of participating in the investigation of this case, which casts public doubt on the present of impartial court in the republic.
Secondly, regarding the appeals of the Constitutional Court to the Venice Commission and the European Court of Human Rights. Doubts in relation to the manner in which the Constitutional Court appealed to the ECHR and the Venice Commission, taking into account the important fact that the Constitutional Court has already suspended the consideration of these cases, have not been dispelled so far.
Thirdly, regarding the independence and political influence of the Constitutional Court. It will not be amiss to recall that, thanks to amendments to the Constitution that entered into force in April 2018, the judges of the Constitutional Court were given right to elect the chairman of the Constitutional Court.
I believe that the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, as the only legal and legitimate representative of the people of the Republic of Armenia and the only state institution with a core mandate, should express its position within its competence with regard to the problems and situation described above,” Mirzoyan emphasized.
