The following statement was released today by President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio.

Council of Europe, Strasbourg - "Following my statement of 29 October 2019, I remain preoccupied about the open conflict involving the Constitutional Court of Armenia. I share the concerns of the rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in this respect.

I would like to recall the recommendations made in the opinion of the Venice Commission adopted in October 2019 that any early retirement scheme at the Constitutional Court has to remain truly voluntary, exclude any undue political or personal pressure on the judges concerned and must be designed not to influence the outcome of pending cases.

Recent public statements and acts do not meet these criteria and will not be conducive to deescalating the situation.

Democratic culture and maturity require institutional restraint, good faith and mutual respect between State institutions.

I call again on all sides to exercise restraint and to de-escalate this worrying situation in order to ensure the normal operation of the constitution of Armenia."

Photo (from left): G. Buquicchio, President of the Venice Commission, Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia