Your trusted source

Doctor of Law, Professor, Artur Ghambaryan, who is the candidate of Justice Ministry at the Expert Commission on Constitutional Reforms, told Panorama.am that the current Constitution does not allow the National Assembly to make constitutional amendments without the endorsement of the Constitutional Court.

"In all cases, the answer is clearly no," he said.

He refused to reply to other questions, explaining that he does not give interviews.

Another member of the commission, Arsen Tavadyan, refrained from answering journalists' questions until the committee is set up.

Anyway, Panorama.am asked him, as a lawyer-scientist, whether the 2015 edition of the Constitution allows the National Assembly to make constitutional changes without the highest court’s validation.

"Look at Article 168 of the Constitution," Tavadyan replied.

Article 168 of the Constitution defines the powers of the Constitutional Court. Part 2 of the article states: “The Constitutional Court shall, in the manner stipulated by the Law on the Constitutional Court: (2) Prior to the adoption of the draft Constitutional Amendments, as well as drafts of legal acts put to a referendum, determine their conformity with the Constitution.”

The article makes it clear that the National Assembly cannot bypass the Constitutional Court while amending the Constitution.

Asked whether in this case the bill drafted by the My Step faction openly runs counter to the Constitution, Tavadyan did not answer.

"Several journalists have called me. I am repeating myself all over again. I am waiting for the commission to be set up to make any comments. As soon as the commission is formed, I will express my opinion, it will be more appropriate,” he said.

Asked what will change after the formation of the commission, he responded: "Well, that's it."

In response to the question whether the lawyer is constrained to make further comments, Tavadyan said, "There is no constraint."

Commenting on Panorama.am’s questions, Anahit Manasyan, another member of the commission, said: “These questions require a thorough and professional, multilateral analysis. For neither your professionalism nor my professional ethics to suffer, let us first of all see what the fate of these changes will be. These legislative amendments can be adopted in a completely different way, as there may be new proposals and changes during the course of their debate. You can conduct an interview on the matter then. Believe me, I will not respect myself in terms of professional ethics if I say something in just a few words. "

“In general, I have heard what this is all about. Overall, I have familiarized myself with the matter. I will not feel at ease in terms of my conscience or my profession if I make some analysis in two words,” she said.

Moreover, she was reluctant to make a more detailed analysis of the issue.

Another member of the commission, Tigran Markosyan, did not respond to our phone calls for two days.