The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has accepted the request submitted by the Constitutional Court to the ECHR to obtain an advisory opinion on cases accepted for examination by the Constitutional Court on the basis of applications from the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction of First Instance and Robert Kocharyan.
As the ECHR reports, a Grand Chamber composed of 17 judges was formed on 7 October to provide the advisory opinion. The President of the Grand Chamber has also set the deadlines for the submission of written arguments by the parties to the domestic proceedings or other interested parties, including the Government of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the Commissioner for Human Rights.
The ECHR recalls that the request for an advisory opinion was submitted on 2 September 2019, and on 2 October it was accepted by the Grand Chamber panel.
It was noted that the advisory opinion regarding the Armenian Constitutional Court’s request concerns proceedings that took place prior to that, in which it is proposed to examine the constitutionality of Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code.
The President of the Grand Chamber has invited the parties to the domestic proceedings before the Constitutional Court, in particular the National Assembly and former President of the Republic of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, to submit written observations by 19 November 2019.
It should be noted that Armenia is the second country to apply for an advisory opinion under Protocol No. 16 to the European Convention on Human Rights. The first country was France. Protocol No. 16 allows the highest courts of countries that have ratified it to apply to the ECHR for an advisory opinion on questions of principle relating to the interpretation or application of the rights and freedoms defined in the European Convention on Human Rights or its Protocols.
