The Process of Forming the Constitutional Reform Council Will Begin: New Decision by Pashinyan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a decision on December 17 to initiate the process of forming the Constitutional Reform Council.

The decision states: “Guided by part 5 of article 7 of the Law on the Structure and Activities of the Government, by point 5.1 of the appendix to the decision N 1363-A of the Government of the Republic of Armenia dated August 18, 2021, and by point 2.1 of appendix N 1 to the decision N 1902-L of the Government of the Republic of Armenia dated November 18, 2021, as well as based on article 37 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia on Normative Legal Acts:

1. To begin the process of dissolving the Expert Commission on Constitutional Reforms established by decision N 181-A of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia dated February 12, 2020, and forming the Constitutional Reform Council.
2. To establish that the formation of the Constitutional Reform Council (hereinafter also referred to as the Council) will include:
1. ex officio— the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, who will also serve as the Chair of the Council,
2. ex officio— the representative of the Republic of Armenia at the European Court of Human Rights,
3. ex officio— the Chair of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs (by agreement),
4. ex officio— the Human Rights Defender (by agreement),
5. one member from each faction of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia (by agreement),
6. one representative from the Supreme Judicial Council (by agreement),
7. three representatives from political parties that did not participate in the distribution of mandates in the eighth convocation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia (by agreement), where the political parties (party alliances) can nominate representatives that have participated in at least two elections to the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia in the five years preceding the nomination,
8. three representatives nominated by registered non-governmental organizations in the Republic of Armenia (by agreement), where the NGOs must have operated in the areas of human rights protection, strengthening the democratic process, improving legislation, and supporting the development of the judicial system for at least five years prior to the nomination.
3. Based on the presentation of the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, two representatives of international organizations that have operated continuously in the Republic of Armenia in the areas of human rights protection, rule of law, strengthening the democratic process, improving legislation, and the development of the judicial system may be included as additional members of the Council with advisory voting rights.
4. The Council will be considered formed upon the inclusion of members stated in point 1 sub-point 1 of this decision. If there is no consent to include any member specified in sub-points “g” to “z” of point 1, or if no candidates are nominated for that member, the Council can be formed without including that member.
5. The elections of the candidates for the members of the Council specified in sub-points “e” and “z” of point 1 will take place within 20 days after the adoption of this decision, through a competition initiated by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia. During the selection of candidates, the experience of the nominated candidate, the volume of their professional activity, the nature, quantity, and degree of recognition of their programs, published works, and research will be taken into account, along with the necessity of ensuring gender representation and other important circumstances.
6. The Council will form and operate an Expert Commission on Constitutional Reforms (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) composed of five members. Members of the Commission will be lawyers with a Doctor of Law or Candidate of Law degree or a foreign Master's degree in law, with at least seven years of professional experience in the legal field. The Council may decide that two of the members of the Commission may be specialists in other fields who meet the established criteria.
7. The selection of members of the Commission will be conducted by the Council in accordance with the procedure for its activities.

3. The Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia is tasked with preparing and presenting to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia within a month the draft decision on the formation of the Constitutional Reform Council, its individual composition, and the procedure for its activities, as well as declaring invalid the decision N 181-A of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia dated February 12, 2020.

4. The decision N 1986-A of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia dated December 30, 2019, on the initiation of the process of establishing the Expert Scientific Commission on Constitutional Reforms is declared void.