Your trusted source

On the whole, the draft new Constitution of Armenia complies with European standards, a member of the Venice Commission said today at the meeting with representatives of Armenian political forces.

A meeting of experts of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) with representatives of political parties of Armenia is underway at Law Department of Yerevan State University. The draft new Constitution of Armenia is being discussed at the meeting attended by representatives of parliamentary forces, public figures, human rights activists, and law experts.

The secretary of the opposition faction ‘Orinats Yerkir” Mher Shahgeldyan said at the meeting that an attempt is being made to present the opinion of the Venice Commission as positive, while he also noticed critical remarks and many proposals in the preliminary opinion released by the Venice Commission.

In response, a member of the Venice Commission said that the draft by no means contradicts European standards. The Commission criticized it so that the draft could be improved, in particular, the draft’s section on human rights fully meets European standards, the VC member said.

To remind, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan submitted on August 21 the draft amendments in the Constitution of Armenia to the National Assembly. The draft amendments had been developed by the Commission on Constitutional Reforms under Armenian President. Vardan Poghosyan, a member of the Commission, has been appointed as official representative of Armenian President for presentation of the draft amendments to the Constitution in the National Assembly of Armenia. This week Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan plans to begin consultations with representatives of political parties regarding the approaches stated in the draft Constitution. The head of state also instructed the Commission on Constitutional Reforms under Armenian President to continue the dialog with the Venice Commission (VC) over those issues indicated in the VC’s preliminary opinion, around which no agreed solutions have been found so far.