The General Staff Has Issued a New Statement

The analysis of the President's decree dated March 2, 2021, regarding the request to dismiss the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia is presented in this statement.

The President has announced his intention to appeal to the Constitutional Court regarding the fulfillment of the second imperative requirement provided by the second part of Article 139 of the Constitution, based on the fourth point of the first part of Article 169 of the Constitution.

The powers of the Constitutional Court are defined by Article 168 of the Constitution, the relevant point being the determination of the compliance of laws. According to Article 168 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court does not have the authority to resolve the issue of the constitutionality of the President's decree or the dismissal of the Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Armenia, meaning the President can only appeal to the Constitutional Court regarding the compliance of the draft decree with the Constitution in terms of Article 40, Paragraph 3 of the Law on Military Service and the Status of Servicemen dated November 15, 2017, and not regarding a specific article or part of any law.

The deadline for appealing to the Constitutional Court is not specifically defined by the Constitution for the relevant part of Article 139, Part 2. The deadlines regarding this issue are defined by Paragraph 3 of Article 35.1 of the Law, which states a period of 8 days after the return of the draft decree (the ground for dismissal refers to the procedure of appointment).

In this statement, the President has acted and expressed the intention to act in strict accordance with the Constitution. Until the expiration of the 8-day deadline (other deadlines commence after the President's appeal to the Constitutional Court), the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Onik Viktorovich Gasparyan, continues to serve his country and people and remains the highest military commander of the Armed Forces.

Head of the Information Department of the General Staff, Samvel Asatryan.