Government Sends Hrayr Tovmasyan into Retirement

The government is proposing that the National Assembly urgently adopt draft laws for the early retirement of Constitutional Court judges. If a judge of the Constitutional Court resigns before December 31, 2020, they will receive a package equivalent to their salary and bonuses at the time of resignation.

This announcement was made today during a government session by Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan while presenting the proposed amendments to the laws on the "Constitutional Court" and "Providing, Servicing, and Social Guarantees for Public Officials" in Armenia.

Badasyan noted, “Considering the high level of corruption in Armenia over the years and its possible impact on the formation of judicial bodies, we have set a goal to check the integrity of judges and law enforcement officers through various means. The introduction of early retirement is yet another step in this direction.”

He also reminded that according to the new Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the nine judges of the Constitutional Court must be elected by the National Assembly from among three candidates nominated by the government, the judges’ general assembly, and the President of Armenia.

Badasyan stated, “In essence, it turns out that this model may not be implemented at all, because prior to the constitutional amendments, the members of the Constitutional Court were already in office, elected by the old procedure.”

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan mentioned that if the government does not change anything, this constitutional provision cannot be applied until 2035, when the terms of the currently serving Constitutional Court judges will expire. “In fact, the authors of the constitutional amendments have both said to the people, ‘Look, we have found a model of the Constitutional Court of our dreams that will solve our problems’ and simultaneously made changes that will not allow Armenia to have this dream Constitutional Court until at least 2035,” Pashinyan said.

According to the Prime Minister, the government’s legislative initiative will allow the members of the Constitutional Court who contributed to the development and adoption of the new Constitution to realize their vision of the Constitutional Court without social losses.

The government has adopted the draft amendments to the laws on the “Constitutional Court” and “Providing, Servicing, and Social Guarantees for Public Officials” and sent them to the National Assembly for urgent consideration at an extraordinary session.