YEREVAN. – Article 88 of the Law on the Constitutional Court already provides for social guarantees for judges of the Constitutional Court, whereas the legislative package presented has nothing in common with social guarantees. Opposition Bright Armenia faction lawmaker Taron Simonyan said this in the National Assembly, after the voting in the second and final reading on the bill on introducing an early pension system for the serving judges of the Constitutional Court on December 11.

"The legislative initiative you have presented allows a judge who has worked for only two years to retire at the expense of taxpayers, which is simply unacceptable," Simonyan stressed.

The controversial law was passed through the efforts of the ruling My Step alliance. The opposition Prosperous Armenia and Bright Armenia faction MPs, however, voted against.