While the Ombudsman Appeals to the Constitutional Court, the Process of Changing the Composition of 3 University Councils Has Already Started

The Human Rights Defender is preparing to contest the government's decision on the new procedure for the formation of university trustees' councils in the Constitutional Court. Arman Tatoyan said yesterday that the decision is problematic and contradicts Article 38 of the Constitution, which guarantees the autonomy of higher education institutions, and it does not take into account the opinion of the professional community.

According to the new procedure, the number of council members is reduced, with 65% to be appointed by the government. Under the current procedure, representatives from the government, the ministry, the faculty, and the student body had equal proportions of 25 percent each. The aim of the project is to make universities more manageable.

Meanwhile, while the Ombudsman is set to appeal to the Constitutional Court, the process of changing the composition of the councils of three universities—Yerevan State University, Shirak State University, and the Pedagogical University—has already begun. Could the Constitutional Court's decision, if the procedure is declared unconstitutional, have retroactive force, meaning would the councils formed today be annulled, and if a rector is appointed, would they be dismissed? We were told that everything depends on what demand is presented in the application and how the Constitutional Court formulates it. The Court may suspend the disputed process from the moment the application is accepted until a final decision is made. If an interim decision is not accepted, the retroactive force of the Constitutional Court's decision will depend on the formulations of the final decision.