Armenia today marks Constitution Day.
The Constitution of Armenia is the foundation of Armenia’s legal system — the country’s fundamental law, to which all other laws and legal acts must conform. The Constitution is also a value-based and ideological document that defines the basic principles of the organisation of society, to the practical application and reinforcement of which the state must aspire.
With the restoration of Armenia’s independence in 1991, the adoption of a new, national Constitution became inevitable. The Constitution was adopted by a nationwide referendum on 5 July 1995. Following its adoption, 5 July became a state holiday — Constitution Day.
The Constitution enshrined the nature of the Republic of Armenia as a sovereign, democratic, legal and social state, proclaimed the fundamental rights and freedoms of man and citizen, and defined the form of government of the republic, based on the principle of the separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers. The Constitution established a semi-presidential form of government, with broad powers vested in the head of state — the President of the Republic.
The Constitution of Armenia, adopted by referendum on 5 July 1995, has been subjected to constitutional amendments twice, the first of which was made a decade after the adoption of the Constitution, by referendum on 27 November 2005, and the second — the most recent — was made two decades after the adoption of the Constitution, by referendum on 6 December 2015. The currently operative Constitution consists of a preamble and sixteen chapters.
On 6 February 2020, the National Assembly of Armenia adopted a decision to put the draft constitutional amendments to a referendum. The referendum on constitutional reforms was to take place on 5 April 2020, but citing the state of emergency in the country, and in accordance with Article 208 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, according to which no referendum is held under conditions of martial law or a state of emergency, the National Assembly decided to declare the referendum on constitutional reforms void.
