Government Develops New Scenario to Dismiss Constitutional Court Judges

The newspaper "Joghavorouty" reports that the government has developed a new scenario for dismissing judges from the Constitutional Court. On one hand, the legal offensive continues, while on the other hand, a strong resistance is being mounted. The executive proposes to the parliament for the urgent adoption of bills aimed at sending Constitutional Court judges into early retirement. The key provision of these bills suggests that if a Constitutional Court member resigns before December 31, 2020, they will receive a pension equal to their salary and bonuses at the time of resignation until the termination of their term as prescribed by the Constitution.

The government has sent these amendments to the laws on the "Constitutional Court" and "On Ensuring the Activity of Public Officials, Service and Social Guarantees" to the National Assembly for expedited approval. What is the reason behind this haste?

Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan, who presented the bill at a government session, stated: “Considering the high level of corruption in Armenia for years and its possible influence on the formation of judicial bodies, we have set a goal to verify the integrity of judges and law enforcement officers using various tools, and the introduction of early retirement is another step in this direction.”

It is certainly difficult to understand how sending judges into early retirement directly verifies their integrity. It should be noted that there is another justification: According to the new Constitution of RA, the 9 judges of the Constitutional Court should be elected by the National Assembly from among three candidates proposed by the government, the general assembly of judges, and the President of the Republic. However, Badasyan expressed concern that this model could not be applied because the current judges of the Constitutional Court were already in office before the constitutional amendments and were elected under the old rules.

Prime Minister Pashinyan also expressed puzzlement, stating that if the government does not change anything, that constitutional model could not be applied until 2035, when the terms of today's Constitutional Court judges expire.

In an interview with the "Joghavorouty" newspaper, Constitutional Court judge Alvina Gyulumyan stated that she is aware of the government's initiative but emphasized that the principle of voluntariness will apply; thus, this document cannot impose any direct or indirect coercion. “No one can force any judge to retire,” A. Gyulumyan concluded.

For more details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.