The President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian has decided to appeal to the Constitutional Court with a request to determine the conformity with the Constitution of the law on making additions and amendments to the Judicial Code and related laws. According to Armenpress, this was announced by the Department of Public Relations of the President’s staff.
The law “On making additions and amendments to the constitutional law ‘Judicial Code of the Republic of Armenia'” (hereinafter the Law) and related laws were submitted to the President of the Republic for signature by the National Assembly on 22 March 2021.
The President of the Republic discussed the Law with the Minister of Justice and the Chairman of the National Assembly’s State and Legal Affairs Committee and received their clarifications. The Law was also discussed with the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, legal scholars, experts and lawyers, and representatives of civil society, and their observations and concerns were heard.
The President of the Republic greatly values reforms in the judicial-legal sphere and believes that they must be carried out in a systemic manner, on the basis of a clear strategy, within the framework of a common vision. That vision and strategy must be based on practical and genuinely current problems, expert studies and a serious analysis of international experience, and must offer systemic and logically interconnected solutions aimed at enhancing the role and effectiveness of the judicial system, the effective realisation of the right to a fair trial, as well as the strengthening of guarantees of judges’ independence and immunity.
The regulations proposed by the Law are situational and raise apparent issues from the standpoint of conformity with the constitutional principles and requirements of legal certainty, proportionality, separation of powers, as well as the independence of the judicial power.
Based on the foregoing and summarising the expert conclusions, it can be concluded that the Law apparently contradicts the Constitution, and therefore the President of the Republic has decided to appeal to the Constitutional Court with a request to determine the conformity with the Constitution of the law “On making additions and amendments to the constitutional law ‘Judicial Code of the Republic of Armenia'” and related laws.
On 19 March, the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia had adopted in its entirety the package of draft laws on making amendments and additions to the constitutional law “Judicial Code of the Republic of Armenia” and the accompanying laws. According to the Law, physical and legal persons will also have the right to apply to the Supreme Judicial Council to bring a judge to disciplinary responsibility in cases involving their participation, if there is an apparent definite basis for a substantial disciplinary violation. In this case, the application of a citizen or legal person shall in itself be a reason for the issue to be examined by the Supreme Judicial Council.
It is envisaged to vest the Supreme Judicial Council with the authority to ensure the normal functioning of the courts, providing that in the direction of its implementation the Supreme Judicial Council shall have the right to adopt legal acts.
