Zohrebyan Labels the Bill on Early Retirement for Constitutional Court Judges as Political

The National Assembly continues its work. The Parliament is discussing a bill on sending Constitutional Court judges into early retirement. Opposition member of the Prosperous Armenia faction, Naira Zohrebyan, classified it as political.

“Our government does not like this composition of the Constitutional Court, especially its president. To say that we are only targeting Hrayr Tovmasyan and the remaining six judges would be an exaggeration. We want processes in Armenia to be exclusively legal and free from any political pressure, as was the case in the past,” stated the MP.

Zohrebyan expressed concern about why taxpayers should allocate 630 million AMD to Hrayr Tovmasyan and the other six judges. “How have you decided that just because you do not like that office and want to replace its judges with ones that suit your preferences, we taxpayers should not solve priority issues?” emphasized Naira Zohrebyan.

The BHK member warned judges of the Constitutional Court who might be tempted to resign, reminding them that this government is not eternal and that after a change of power, those funds will need to be returned.

It is worth noting that the bill proposes voluntary resignation of the Constitutional Court judges and President Hrayr Tovmasyan by January 31, 2020. If the president and judges resign, they will receive a pension equal to their salary until the end of their term.