The Court of Cassation has overturned the judicial act rendered by Judge Armen Danielyan of the Criminal Court of Appeal, stating that the decision to apply to the Constitutional Court couldn’t be examined by the Criminal Court of Appeal, as reported the defense of second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan.

“On May 20, 2019, Judge Davit Grigoryan of the first instance court granted the motion of Robert Kocharyan’s defense, suspended case proceedings and applied to the Constitutional Court in regard to the constitutionality of Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia.

Prosecutor Petros Petrosyan and representatives of the victims’ legal successors Vahe Grigoryan had submitted appeals that were upheld by Armen Danielyan upon the decision of June n25, 2019, but before the appeals were filed and in the Criminal Court of Appeal the defense had claimed that the issue of applying to the Constitutional Court couldn’t be examined by the Criminal Court of Appeal at all.

Examining the cassation appeal of the defense of Robert Kocharyan against Judge Armen Danielyan’s judicial act on March 17, 2021, the Court of Cassation found that the first instance court’s decision to apply to the Constitutional Court couldn’t be examined by the Criminal Court of Appeal. The Court of Cassation agreed with the defense and simply stated that the constitutional-legal dispute raised by the first instance court had to be solved only by the Constitutional Court.”