Calls for Renouncing Sovereignty May Lead to Imprisonment: National Assembly Discusses Bill

In Armenia, there are plans to impose criminal liability for actions aimed at partially or entirely restricting sovereignty or for calls to renounce sovereignty. This was stated by Levon Balayan, the Deputy Minister of Justice, while presenting the bill on amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia at the National Assembly.

According to him, the existing criminal code stipulates criminal liability for the overthrow of constitutional order and calls for violence. “That is, there is currently no criminal liability for actions aimed at forcibly renouncing sovereignty or for public calls to do so. Meanwhile, sovereignty is one of the essential features of the state,” Balayan said.

If the bill is adopted, actions aimed at renouncing sovereignty will be punishable under criminal law. “These are actions directed at partial or complete restriction of Armenia’s sovereignty using force or threat of force. Public calls for such actions will also be criminalized,” Balayan noted.

Committing acts aimed at renouncing sovereignty could result in a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years, while public calls for such actions could receive various penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment of up to 3 years.

If the calls are made publicly, through media, or via works displayed using information technology, the punishment could range from 2 to 5 years.

Moreover, both ruling coalition and opposition MPs pointed out that such definitions contain elements of ambiguity. It was noted that any international treaty implies a restriction on sovereignty; furthermore, according to the parliamentarians, it is not entirely clear which specific calls or actions the bill refers to.

Balayan stated that they will attempt to provide clarifications before the second reading. He also mentioned that he could not explain why this bill was submitted, as he was not among the initiators.

This bill was approved by the Armenian government on December 29, 2022.