The Armenian National Congress on Constitutional Amendments

Considering the formation of a legitimate Constitutional Court as a necessary step towards resolving the current political crisis, the Armenian National Congress supports the constitutional amendment proposed by the National Assembly and will actively participate in the upcoming referendum. This is stated in the Congress's announcement, which we present below:

“The Constitutional Court formed through illegal and criminal means is one of the main factors threatening the establishment of democracy and internal stability in post-revolutionary Armenia. Serving the interests of the previous regime, which committed numerous violations against the constitutional order, it has become a source of obstruction to justice and a permanent source of tension. The issue of forming a Constitutional Court that enjoys the trust of the people must be resolved. Without this, it is impossible to build a democratic country.

Regarding the debate over the legality of the upcoming referendum aimed at achieving this goal, we consider the decision made by the National Assembly to hold a referendum, approved by the President's decree, sufficient at this stage. It is evident that many provisions of the current Constitution, imposed on the people through widespread fraud in 2015, create and will continue to create legal deadlocks and lead to contradictory interpretations. It will be the citizens of Armenia who will put an end to these misinterpretations with the results of the referendum.

The government’s issue is the guarantee of fully reliable and unchallenged conditions for free expression. The Congress expresses regret that the authorities did not heed the numerous calls from political forces and public figures and did not resolve this important issue in a timely manner, a year ago. Ultimately, the sluggishness and lack of determination on this matter have caused unnecessary complications.

We also express our disappointment that another equally important issue directly related to constitutional rights was excluded from the referendum agenda: the presence of an absurd and unfounded clause in the Constitution granting the Constitutional Court unlimited rights to block any amendment to the Constitution. It is no coincidence that such a provision has been absent since the Constitution adopted in 1995 and does not exist in the legislations of democratic countries.

Considering the formation of a legitimate Constitutional Court as a necessary step towards resolving the current political crisis, the Armenian National Congress supports the constitutional amendment proposed by the National Assembly and will actively participate in the upcoming referendum. Despite this, being convinced that the mentioned amendment only addresses a specific issue related to the constitutional order, we insist that the current Constitution is not legitimate and, if maintained, will continue to bring numerous disasters upon our country. Therefore, we reaffirm our demand for the adoption of an entirely new Constitution based on the governance model established since the achievement of independence and announce that the resolution of this issue must become the main agenda of our state for the upcoming period.”