Thursday, July 9 2020 15:49

ArmInfo.  It seems to me that everyone  except us had some expectations from the ECHR. Deputy Speaker of RA  NA Alen Simonyan stated this in an interview with reporters.

Simonyan said that the ruling faction was confident that the ECHR  would not take such a measure as the suspension of the law. According  to the Deputy Speaker, no international organization could have  adopted such a resolution. <Hrayr Tovmasyan and the media serving  him, as well as politicians close to him, are trying to create a  storm in a glass of water. However, once again, when they try to  complain about us to Brussels or to Moscow, their attempts do not  give the desired effect>, he said.

The Deputy Speaker noted that, in his opinion, Hrayr Tovmasyan will  do everything in his power to remain in the position of Head of the  Constitutional Court.

It should be noted that the European Court of Human Rights rejected  the statement of three ex-judges of the Constitutional Court and  former head of the Constitutional Court Hrayr Tovmasyan v. Armenia.  The judges of the Constitutional Court demanded the repeal of the  amendments to the law "On the Constitutional Court", which deprive  them of their authority. The decision of the ECHR notes that the  court does not see the need to take such a measure as the suspension  of the law. The fact is that changes in the structure of the  Constitution do not entail such serious risks as irreversible  violation of human rights.

To recall, on June 24, Armenia's President Armen Sarkissian signed a  package of bills, including those related to amendments to the law on  the Constitutional Court. The relevant amendments were approved by  the National Assembly at an extraordinary meeting on June 22.  According to the amendments, the powers of the judges of the  Constitutional Court Feliks Tokhyan, Hrant Nazarian and Alvina  Gyulumyan, who had been in office for more than 12 years, were  terminated. Already former head of the Constitutional Court Hrayr  Tovmasyan will continue to work as a judge.

The chairman and deputy chairman of the Constitutional Court will be  elected after the approval of the full composition of the  Constitutional Court (9 judges). At the same time, the current  composition of 6 judges is sufficient for the legality of the  convened meetings, that is, the continuity of the activities of the  Constitutional Court will not be violated. According to the law, in  the absence of the chairman and deputy chairman of the Constitutional  Court, the powers of the chairman are temporarily performed by the  oldest judge, that is, Ashot Khachatryan.