Minister of Health Did Not Have the Authority to Issue Such an Order

The newspaper "Pats" reports: "Presenting a vaccination certificate or taking a PCR test every 14 days, otherwise the employer will have the right to dismiss the employee from work. This is the order of the Minister of Health, which will come into effect on October 1.

Sergey Amirjanyan, a member of the Chamber of Auditors' Council and a lawyer, notes: "The legal norms referenced by the Minister of Health to accept this sub-legislative act do not grant him the authority to state such regulations. Just one observation to support my position: the presence of a PCR test or vaccination is nothing more than a mandatory medical examination or medical intervention, which is provided for by the Law on Medical Services for the Population. Article 25 of this law clearly states that the use of medical intervention is a right of the person, not an obligation. It states that every individual has the right to refuse medical intervention in writing, which also includes appropriate preventive measures. This very legal regulation proves that the Minister of Health did not have the authority to issue such an order, as it contradicts a normative legal act with higher legal force, which is the law itself," Amirjanyan said in an interview with "Pats".

In response to a clarifying question on what an employee should do when the employer puts them in a position to choose, Amirjanyan replies: "Currently, there are no legal regulations in the Republic of Armenia that would grant the employer the right to dismiss an employee from work if the specified conditions are not met. Therefore, if there is an illegal order from the employer, the employee has the right to challenge it in court through the established legal procedures," concludes Sergey Amirjanyan.