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On October 23 the RA NA President Galust Sahakyan took part in the Session of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission). We present Galust Sahakyan’s complete speech delivered during the session, which relates to the procedure of the Constitutional Amendments.

“Dear Mr. Gianni Buquicchio, President of the Venice Commission,

Distinguished members of the Commission,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It’s a great honour for me to speak here, as the Venice Commission is the Institution that stands at the roots of the legal and democratic reforms of the Republic of Armenia. The members of the Venice Commission together with the Armenian specialists did not spare efforts and energy to the strengthening of legal and democratic systems in our country. The opinion of the Venice Commission has become a criterion, for lawyers and politicians alike.

The current process of the Constitutional reforms in the Republic of Armenia, which started in 2013 with your support and engagement, reaches its logical end; on the 6th of December of this year a referendum on the Constitutional amendments will take place in our country.

Proposed Constitutional Amendments are another step in the ongoing process of strengthening the human rights and fundamental freedoms, the enrooting democracy and legal state in the Republic of Armenia. I want to assure you, that their development would have been almost impossible without the active participation of the Venice Commission.

Adopted in 1995, the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia was “power – centered” which means “person – centered” with ruling system. The individual, with his or her with its basic rights was not at the core of that Constitution; the core of that Constitution was the President of the Republic, who was given predominant position, in respect of all branches of power.

The Constitutional reforms of 2005 - although an important step on the path towards guaranteeing the fundamental rights and development of parliamentarism failed to resolve entirely issues relating to the building of a “human – centered” Constitution and a balanced governance system.

Therefore, the main objectives of the proposed Constitutional reforms are the strengthening of a stable democratic system in the country and ensuring the rule of law - a cornerstone of the legal state.

The international experience of Constitutional developments has been comprehensively studied during the elaboration of the draft amendments of the Constitution. The gaps and uncertainties in the text of the Constitution have been mostly overcome, consistency of the Constitution has been ensured, as well as dynamic and evolutionary development; forming sufficient and necessary constitutional - legal preconditions for ensuring of rule of law in the country and for the strengthening of the Constitution.

The draft also proposes to include amongst the irrevocable articles, Article 3, according to which a person and his/her dignity is the core of Constitutional regulations.

The draft emphasizes the protection of the family - as the natural and fundamental cell of the society and includes it, for the first time, in the principles of the Constitutional order.

As a result of the Constitutional reforms of 2005 significant contextual and structural changes were implemented in the second Chapter of the Constitution, which is the necessary constitutional - legal basis for the protection of fundamental rights. At the same time, in 2005 in the field of basic rights, Constitutional Amendments were implemented within the logical frame of undifferentiated prescription of rights and freedoms. The result of this is that fundamental solutions to the problem of ensuring direct application of rights were not given. This is because directly applicable rights were not clearly separated and prescribed, as well as peculiarities of their protection. The above mentioned refers especially to the limitation of social rights and classic fundamental rights.

In this section I would also like to emphasize the right of spontaneous assemblies, which is defined as a subjective right and at the Constitutional level, the prescription of the principle of proportionality. In the proposed draft the issue of limitation of fundamental rights has been subjected to fundamental review. This refers both, to the basic form of the fundamental rights limitation; consolidation of law with reservations, and to the grounds of the confinements. Specification of confinements to the submitted requirements has also special significance.

I would like to make a special reference to the changes of the governance model. These amendments are the most discussed among political cycles due to their political nature. A number of scientific dissertations and works are devoted to the current semi-presidential system gaps and shortcomings. The risk of political monopoly rises as an outcome of absolute majority, which the Republic President’s political team has in the National Assembly and because of the absence of counterbalances in the Parliament. It makes President’s power absolute, without viable counterbalances, neither from legislative nor from executive branches of power.

The necessary proportionality is not ensured between the functions and powers of the President. There is an uncertainty among the functional role of the executive power, competency and responsibility.

The modern Parliamentary system is foreseen by the 4th and the 6th Chapter of the draft, which clearly identifies functional separation of powers between the National Assembly and the Government, while the President of the Republic oversees the upholding of the Constitution. Within this framework of proposed amendments a one-hundred-percent proportional electoral system is also designated for the first time at the National Assembly. Since the main dividing political line in the parliamentary system is not between Government and Parliament, but between political majority and parliamentary minority, the draft reserves equivalent rights to the role of the parliamentary minority; to take part in the formation of different State bodies, to create investigating commissions, to hold senior positions in the National Assembly etc.

In the draft, the regulations that have to do with the judicial power are aimed at establishing mechanisms for ensuring independence between judiciary power and the judges, to increase the independence of the judiciary and the efficiency of self-government, as well as to clarify the issues regarding the status and functions of the Constitutional Court.

The above mentioned are just a small part of the implemented amendments.

We are glad and proud that the proposed amendments have received words of praise in the initial opinions of the Venice Commission and deemed to be corresponding to the modern European standards.

I would like to assure, that the authorities of the Republic of Armenia will do their utmost in order to ensure a high level of conduct of referendum on Constitutional amendments scheduled on the 6th of December. I am convinced that we will have the support of the Venice Commission also in the process of legislative amendments, which are foreseen if Constitutional amendments are adopted in referendum.

Once again I would like to thank a good friend of the Armenian People, Mr. Gianni Buquicchio, the working group and all the members of the Venice Commission.”