Head Prosecutor's Decision: Hrayr Tovmasyan Involved as Defendant in Two Episodes

The Head Prosecutor of Armenia, Artur Davtyan, has decided to involve Hrayr Tovmasyan, who held the position of Minister of Justice from December 17, 2010, to April 3, 2014, as a defendant in a criminal case being investigated by the Special Investigation Service of Armenia.

This information was reported by the press service of the prosecutor's office.

It has been substantiated by sufficient evidence collected in the criminal case that H. T., having been officially informed about the legal regulation stipulated in the third point of article 91 of the Law on Notariate of Armenia, as the person responsible for ensuring notarial activities, misused his official position for personal gain. During 2012-2013, he colluded with the head of the relevant inspection of the Ministry of Justice, who has a close relationship with him, to obstruct the notaries from exercising their right to freely use the area in question via threats of intervening in their professional activities and dismissing them.

Moreover, Tovmasyan, motivated by personal interests to conceal his actual possession, management, and use rights over the mentioned area, acquired it under another person's name.

Subsequently, for selfish reasons, he coordinated with public officials under his authority and used the subservient status of two notaries to arrange a lease for the area at a clearly disadvantageous price for them in October 2013. As a result, up to April 2014, Tovmasyan received a total rental payment of 11,200,000 AMD from each of the notaries, at a monthly rate of 800,000 AMD.

Additionally, in February 2012, Tovmasyan regularly threatened a group of public officials under the Ministry of Justice, using his position to intervene in the operations of a non-commercial professional organization, the Chamber of Notaries, forcing its president to lease property owned by him under unacceptable conditions and rental amounts that he set.

Under duress, and having no alternative due to his subordinate position, the Chamber's president signed a lease agreement on February 20, 2012, renting a property in poor condition intended for office use, at a monthly lease payment of 300,000 AMD. Previously, the property had been leased for 50,000 AMD and then 85,000 AMD by another party before the notarial chamber took it on.

Thus, until the termination of the lease agreement on October 29, 2014, Tovmasyan received a total of 10,020,000 AMD in rental payments from the notarial chamber. After signing the lease under coercion, internal renovation works were carried out in the unfinished area to ensure the normal operation of the notarial chamber, costing 2,467,000 AMD from its budget.

Accordingly, Tovmasyan is charged with two episodes of abuse of office powers, resulting in negligent severe consequences, in collusion with a group of public officials and motivated by personal interests. Based on the above and referring to part 6 of article 9 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, H. T. has been involved as a defendant under part 2 of article 308 of the RA Criminal Code for apparent commission of dangerous acts in the specified case.

The decision was sent on the same day to the body conducting the proceedings for formal charges. The preliminary investigation of the criminal case continues.

Given the various unfounded comments regarding the functional immunity of the President of the Constitutional Court and the necessity to obtain the consent of the Constitutional Court for criminal prosecution, we find it necessary to clarify the following: According to part 3 of article 164 of the RA Constitution, criminal prosecution against a judge of the Constitutional Court may only be initiated with the consent of the Constitutional Court regarding their performance of duties. In other words, the Constitution of the RA, following the amendments made in 2015, establishes functional immunity for judges of the Constitutional Court, in contrast to the Constitution amended in 2005.

According to part 1 of article 4 of the RA Criminal Procedure Code, the proceedings in criminal cases are governed by the procedures of the criminal law in force at the time of investigation, inquiry, or trial. In other words, the rules of criminal procedure, including the scope of procedural rights and duties of participants and the guarantees of their realization, are determined by the laws in force at the time of the proceedings. An exception is provided only in cases where the procedural rules change after the initiation of proceedings, altering or restricting the rights of participants.

Currently, Hrayr Tovmasyan is accused of alleged crimes committed during his tenure as Minister of Justice from 2010 to 2014. Although the 2005 Constitution was in effect at the time of his appointment as a member of the Constitutional Court, the criminal case related to the alleged crimes committed between 2010 and 2014 was initiated in August 2019, after the constitutional provision defining the functional immunity of judges of the Constitutional Court came into force with the 2015 amendments.

Therefore, considering that Tovmasyan is charged with actions not related to his powers as a member or president of the Constitutional Court, there is no legal necessity to overcome the complicated procedural requirements for involving him as a defendant under article 164 of the RA Constitution concerning his criminal prosecution.