The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Armenia have expressed concerns that the ongoing tension between the Armenian government and the country’s Constitutional Court might negatively impact the system of checks and balances in the country.

In a statement released today, Andrej Šircelj (Slovenia, EPP/CD) and Kimmo Kiljunen (Finland, SOC) are quoted as saying: “ We are therefore worried about the long-term damage these tensions, that have reached an unprecedented level, could inflict on the judiciary as a whole, in which trust is already very low.”

In December 2019, Armenian Constitutional Court President Hrayr Tovmasyan was charged with ““Abuse of Official Authority" (Criminal Code Article 308).

Many in Armenia, including government officials, want Tovmasyan to resign, arguing that he is favorably biased towards officials of the previous government.

Tovmasyan has described the charges as the latest round in a government sponsored political witch-hunt against him.

The PACE statement reads as follows:

“Checks and balances are essential in any democratic system. This implies that all institutional powers must act according to the rule of law, and respect it in their deeds and words, including with regard to the principle of the presumption of innocence. If they fail to interact according to these principles, they undermine and damage each other. We are therefore worried about the long-term damage these tensions, that have reached an unprecedented level, could inflict on the judiciary as a whole, in which trust is already very low,” they said.

“So far, the Government and the Parliament have respected legal procedures to resolve the situation. Moreover, the authorities have requested the opinion of the Venice Commission on the mechanism for early retirement of judges of the Constitutional Court. According to European standards, the Venice Commission underlined that early retirements should be strictly voluntarily, and that this principle needs to be observed. As co-rapporteurs, we will closely monitor that the Armenian authorities continue to act in this way, even if the objective of this mechanism, to uphold the spirit of the constitutional amendments of 2015, seems valid,” they added.

“We have already emphasised the need for political players to refrain from actions and statements that could be perceived as exerting pressure on the judiciary. In addition, we call on all parties to lower tension,” said the co-rapporteurs.

“Finally, these tensions should not overshadow the need for reforms in Armenia, whether it be those in preparation or those that have already been launched in many areas of interest for the Council of Europe,” they concluded.