Former Minister: Transfer of Enclaves Possible Only Through Referendum

Former Minister of Justice Gevorg Danielyan wrote on his Facebook page:  

“A purely legal analysis of the territories surrendered after the 44-day war, including inter-state strategic routes, has been justified by the so-called 2010 law on 'Administrative Territorial Division.' We have repeatedly explained that this law was adopted back in 1995, which may not be particularly significant, but it has been periodically ignored. Moreover, it is completely unrelated to the demarcation and delimitation of state borders; it merely enshrines the areas of communities, which do not include border zones.

The law, which has recently been frequently referenced, has been entirely forgotten. Why? First, the Azerbaijani armed forces have occupied certain territories that were supposed to be designated as bordering areas under that law, resulting in more than 8,000 internally displaced persons.

But the issue of the so-called enclaves has become more urgent. According to that law, the enclaves are already included within Armenia’s territory, and their transfer is only possible through a referendum (Article 205 of the Constitution). In this case, it's impossible to bypass the referendum with a declaration of 'political responsibility' without grossly violating the Constitution. It cannot be ruled out that the National Assembly will try to amend this article, excluding the legal route of putting territorial changes to a referendum. However, in this case, the National Assembly would also permit a gross violation of the Constitution, since Article 205 can only be amended through a referendum (Article 202, Part 1).”