I Have Not Yet Been Appointed Chief of the General Staff

The decision of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to appoint Artak Davtyan as the Chief of the General Staff has not yet come into effect. It should be noted that on the last day of the previous Chief of Staff Onik Gasparyan's powers, Nikol Pashinyan sent Davtyan to the General Staff, where he was appointed to a fictitious position as a special assignments officer. Artak Davtyan is currently fulfilling the duties of a special assignments officer in the General Staff.

"Yes, I have not yet been appointed as Chief of the General Staff, but I am performing my constitutional duties," Artak Davtyan said in an interview with hraparak.am.

Regarding the delay in his appointment and when it is expected to take place, Davtyan stated that it is a matter of legal procedures, and there are no other issues. He added that he is not a lawyer and does not have the nuances to explain when the appointment will occur: "When the order comes into effect, you will definitely be informed about it."

There has never been a position of a special assignments officer in the General Staff; this is a situational solution by Nikol Pashinyan, allowing him to have his ear and eye within the General Staff, which had been demanding his resignation, and to establish dual authority because it was presumed that Onik Gasparyan would not easily leave at the arbitrary demand of Nikol Pashinyan and would stay to fight for his rights as well as against the authorities. However, when Gasparyan willingly departed, Nikol Pashinyan signed the decision for Davtyan's second high position within one day on March 9, presenting Davtyan's candidacy for the position of Chief of the General Staff to the President for approval.

On March 11, the President returned Pashinyan's decision with objections on the same day. Pashinyan, refusing to accept the objections, returned his decree to the presidential office, and even rushed to the General Staff to introduce the new chief. However, when the legal community alerted that Pashinyan does not have the authority to act without the President's signature and thus would violate the Constitution, it was announced that he had merely participated in a consultation at the General Staff, and Davtyan's appointment did not take place.

As for why the President of Armenia did not sign the decision, we have previously reported on this. The basis for this decision is the law "On Military Service and the Status of Military Servants," which the President is already contesting in the Constitutional Court.

According to the 3rd part of Article 35.1 of the law "On Military Service and the Status of Military Servants," if the Prime Minister does not accept the President's objections within five days, then after the expiration of the five-day period, the President must sign the decree within three days or refer the matter to the Constitutional Court. The presidential office has stated that Armen Sarkissian will not sign the draft decree and will not refer it to the Constitutional Court. Therefore, the deadline according to the "5+3" framework ends on March 19, and only on March 20 can Artak Davtyan be considered legally appointed as Chief of the General Staff.