The Constitutional Court to Review Robert Kocharyan's Petition

The Constitutional Court will finally review Robert Kocharyan's petition regarding the compliance of Article 300.1 of the RA Criminal Code with the Constitution. The hearing is scheduled for March 23.

It should be reminded that on July 18, 2019, the Constitutional Court had decided to suspend the proceedings of the cases regarding the compliance of Article 300.1 with the Constitution, based on the applications from the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction and R. Kocharyan. The Court sought opinions from the European Court of Human Rights and the Venice Commission.

Responses were received from these bodies last summer. According to the Venice Commission, there is no unified approach in international practice regarding the classification of crimes against the constitutional order; some countries refer to the Constitution as a whole, while others simply emphasize the necessity of preserving the constitutional order without defining it precisely.

Moreover, a hearing was scheduled for July 7, but the National Assembly submitted a request to postpone the hearing, citing the need to review the opinion of the Venice Commission. However, Kocharyan's lawyers state that the authorities are attempting to delay the Constitutional Court's decision as much as possible, understanding that it would be in favor of Kocharyan. Thus, the proceedings do not favor the authorities in any arena—neither in the March 1 trial nor in the Constitutional Court review process.