Tatoyan Appeals to Constitutional Court for Restoration of Rights of Disabled Pilots

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, has today lodged an appeal with the Constitutional Court regarding the restoration of the violated rights of disabled pilots. He made this announcement on his Facebook page.

"Specifically, the appeal contests provisions of the Civil Code, the Labor Code, and two government decisions that do not establish effective mechanisms, leading to violations of the rights of disabled pilots due to 15 years of bureaucratic wrangling with the government and the judiciary, which continue to persist. This case is a classic example of how the issue is passed from one government body to another, evading resolution under judicial delays, and ultimately failing to provide legislative foundations for solving the problem. As a result, individuals have been deprived for years of the right to compensation for damages caused to their lives and health due to workplace accidents and occupational diseases," Tatoyan stated.

He added that pilots with disabilities continually find themselves forced to raise issues concerning their rights protection anew with each government, only to receive evasive responses, lacking solutions, based on unfounded fears that merely instill hope without delivering results.

This case illustrates how the bureaucracy of the executive system undermines the concept of the rule of law and blatantly violates the constitutional principle that acknowledges human beings as the highest value. It demonstrates that the state’s responsibility towards individuals and their specific issues is not being met, nor is there respect for their specific rights, despite governments repeatedly enshrining human rights protection ideas in various strategic documents over the years.

Bureaucratic delays like these devalue all such concepts in the eyes of the public, rendering them mere illusory thoughts. The issue of the pilots was first registered with the Human Rights Defender's office in 2006, meaning it has been ongoing for 15 years. Over these years, numerous letters have been sent to relevant state agencies from Human Rights Defenders with legislative studies and proposals for resolving the issue, and discussions have been organized or initiated.

Numerous meetings have taken place among representatives from the Human Rights Defender's office, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the NGO 'Disabled Pilots of Armenia,' and other involved parties in the resolution of the issue. This problem has also been highlighted over the years in reports and communications by Human Rights Defenders.

In 2004, the government declared a provision null and void that stated that in the event of an organization’s dissolution or restructuring leading to the cessation of its activities, damages would be compensated by its legal successor, or in the absence of one, by the state budget. The issue arises from the fact that domestic legislation lacks legal frameworks directed towards ensuring compensation for damages resulting from workplace accidents and occupational diseases in cases of organizational dissolution or absence. Consequently, pilots have been deprived of monthly compensation payments for damages caused by accidents and occupational diseases.

From 2006 to 2020, pilots have been waiting for the conclusion of court proceedings regarding organizational dissolution, aiming to receive compensation after having a final court decision. For over seven years, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has put forth a draft law that has yet to materialize, which aims to address the issue of compensation for those affected by accidents and occupational diseases in the event of organizational dissolution.

Meanwhile, years of unjustified delays in the adoption of this draft further demonstrate that governments have not made and continue not to make consistent efforts to eliminate violations of individuals' rights. In 2017 and 2020, discussions with the government and the work arrangements established indicated some positive movements towards resolving the issue, including a legislative initiative directed at providing a solution. However, in 2020, the Ministry of Justice halted the process upon submitting a negative conclusion regarding the draft's adoption.

Since then, discussions facilitated by the Human Rights Defender's office, involving the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and disabled pilots, have clearly indicated that no concrete steps towards solving the issue have been proposed to date. As a result, a situation has arisen where the international obligations assumed by the Republic of Armenia are ignored. Essentially, it has come to be that while no relevant bodies deny that there is an issue, the issue remains unresolved, and the human right remains unaddressed.

The age and health status of disabled pilots and their life expectancy, which should advocate for the urgent and favorable resolution of this matter, have instead been left to years of intolerable neglect through bureaucratic grappling.

The government of Armenia is obliged to provide a resolution to this issue in the shortest possible timeframe that ensures the full realization of the rights of disabled pilots. Thus, the Human Rights Defender's appeal to the Constitutional Court contests compliance with Article 1086 of the Civil Code, Article 236 of the Labor Code, and two government decisions related to compensation for damages caused to life or health, in accordance with Article 29, 60, 75, 78, and 81 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, to the extent that they do not establish effective legal frameworks for obtaining compensation for damages due to workplace accidents and occupational diseases in case of the organization’s dissolution or absence. We will continue to utilize all possible avenues within the Human Rights Defender’s jurisdiction to restore the violated rights of pilots," he concluded.