There is a crisis in the Constitutional Court, and its name is Vahe Grigoryan: Gevorg Petrosyan

During the discussion of the draft law on amending the constitutional law on the Constitutional Court in the Permanent Committee on Legal Affairs, Gevorg Petrosyan, a member of the Prosperous Armenia faction, directed several questions to government member Rustam Badasyan:

“Let no one try to interpret this as a personal insult, because I have no such intention. I am purely raising legal issues. Mr. Minister, is this draft aimed at worsening or improving the situation of the members of the Constitutional Court? Secondly, by what criteria were the members of the Constitutional Court selected? Why do you not apply this, for instance, to the judges of the Supreme Court, the appellate courts, or the members of the National Assembly? I would also like to receive my salary and incentives for my four years and three months of service and enjoy my winter evenings in various picturesque places in Armenia. What criteria were used to determine the validity of Chapter 7? Is there not an issue of removing former judges rather than two newly elected judges? Have you spoken with taxpayers? Are they ready to support judges who do not perform their duties? Don’t you think this distorts the concept of retirement? I have been told that a pension is a compensation for the amounts deducted from salaries over the years. Then when you say there is a crisis in the Constitutional Court, be specific—what crisis are you talking about? My professors have told me that a crisis occurs when a state body cannot resolve issues. There is a crisis there, and its name and surname are Vahe Grigoryan; what crisis are you referring to when solutions cannot be found?”

The minister responded to his questions, stating: “Let’s get to the end so that it is understood what we mean by ‘crisis’. The level of public trust in the judicial system has been recorded for years; which part of the public trusts it, who thinks it is fair, that’s what we mean by ‘crisis’.”

After the minister's detailed responses, Gevorg Petrosyan remarked that his questions had not been answered, adding: “If a person inspires distrust, do you give them a heavenly ticket?”