Government Approves Package of Draft Laws for Early Retirement of Constitutional Court Judges

The government today, on November 14, approved the package of draft laws on amendments to the constitutional law "On the Constitutional Court" and the law "On Ensuring Activities, Service, and Social Guarantees for Officials" and deemed it urgent.

It is noteworthy that the draft proposes a procedure for judges of the Constitutional Court to voluntarily retire early while preserving all social guarantees. Specifically, it suggests that if a Constitutional Court judge resigns by January 31, 2020, they will be entitled to a pension equal to their official salary and allowances up until the constitutional term for their position expires after their powers cease.

This right will not be available for judges elected after the entry into force of the constitutional law on the Constitutional Court dated January 17, 2017.

Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan presented the bill, mentioning that the 2015 Constitution stipulates that nine judges of the Constitutional Court should be elected by the National Assembly. Three judges are nominated by the government, three by the President of Armenia, and three by the General Assembly of Judges. Essentially, it seems that this model may not be implemented at all since there are members in the Constitutional Court who were elected under the old rules,” Badasyan said. He added that several countries have implemented this practice.

In Hungary and Poland, mandatory early retirement schemes have been criticized by various bodies of the European Council, which is why Armenia adopted the voluntary retirement option.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan indicated that according to the Constitution, the term of office for Constitutional Court judges is set at 12 years, and it is expected that the president of the court should be elected by its members for a six-year term, all of which provisions have already come into force.

“These provisions have fully entered into force, but the provisions stipulated by these constitutional changes cannot be implemented at least until 2035. Thus, on one hand, the authors have claimed that they have found the model of the dream Constitutional Court, while on the other hand, actions have been taken that will prevent us from having that dream Constitutional Court until 2035,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister noted that the issue of constitutional amendments arises every ten years in Armenia, and if we proceed with this logic, the situation may arise where the provisions are changed. “This logic will result in a situation where the constitutional provisions in force in Armenia are not implemented, which is one of the biggest absurdities in the practice of law. Now, with this law, we are providing an opportunity to resolve this issue,” he stated, adding that this way, they allow people to support themselves and the functioning of the dream court without social losses.

Pashinyan mentioned that this issue has been discussed with partner international organizations and still needs to be sent for discussion to the National Assembly.