Representatives of the executive and legislative bodies have been talking about the need to make constitutional changes for a long time. On 5 November, the Ministry of Justice organized discussions on Constitutional reforms. On 17 December of this year, the RA Prime Minister signed a decision on starting the process of forming the Professional Committee on Constitutional Reforms

Iravaban.net has launched a series of interviews, with the objective to present the observations and opinions of experts in the field on the need for constitutional reform.

We talked about the topic with Arsen Tavadyan, Candidate of Juridical Sciences, lawyer.

– The Ministry of Justice announced the initiation of the constitutional reform. To what extent its need is justified for it now?

– In general, constitutional changes are needed, beginning from the form of government to the system of government and the normalization of economic relations. In other words, the three main issues that underlie the state system, I think, should be reformed in Armenia. The experience of recent years has shown it as well.

– What factors should be taken into account before the adoption of the new Constitution and what should be the process of implementation of constitutional reforms?

– First of all, we must take into account our economic, geographical, political situation and conditions. We must also take into account that, unfortunately, we are a country at war all the time and the entire Constitution must be adapted to it, that is, that we have scarce resources and the danger of war without having economic resources. This should be our starting point.

The reform process should be as transparent and professional as possible, involving not only lawyers but also economists, political scientists, sociologists and ethnographers. It should be accompanied by extensive public explanations and scientific propaganda. It should be accompanied by extensive public explanations and scientific propaganda.

– RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan once mentioned that during the crisis that arose in 2020, the parliamentary system of government showed its non-viability. Is there a need to change the way the country is governed?

– Regarding the form of government, I think we need changes. Different political forces say contradictory things, they also contradict themselves, but that does not eliminate the fact that our people do not elect parties, but elect individuals, so by virtue of this fact it is pointless to demand from the people to elect parties, if it does not. The public always sees people behind the parties and not the ideas. There is no need to pretend here and wait for parties to be formed in Armenia and the people to vote according to ideology. Of course it will not happen. As for the economic justification, the presidential form of government is much more competitive and much cheaper. Also in the case of this form of government, political responsibility is calculated much more accurately.

– The Professional Committee on Constitutional Reforms (the activity of the Committee was suspended due to 2020 Karabakh war), on 22 August 2020, adopted the draft concept of decentralization of Constitutional Control and unification of the highest courts, in particular the establishment of the Supreme Court. To what extent is the decentralization of Constitutional control and the creation of the Supreme Court justified?

– As I am one of the co-authors, let me say that we had several factors in mind, starting from judicial efficiency, pre-trial court savings, from which the idea came, and with all these parameters, I think that our proposal was quite effective. Of course, it was necessary to understand that the justification should not be mechanical. In other words, this process should be considered as the abolition of the Court of Cassation or the Constitutional Court. The reasoning should be done in a much more serious way and not just a body called a supreme court, which will in fact simply perform the functions of courts of general jurisdiction and the functions of a separate Constitutional Court, but will formally sit in one building. If so, of course it does not make sense. Our proposal was much deeper, which implied a functional change.

– Experts in the field of anti-corruption argue that providing constitutional status and guarantees of independence to anti-corruption bodies, such as the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption and the Anti-Corruption Committee, will increase the independence and efficiency of these institutions. What is your opinion on this issue?

– I think that in order to fight corruption, it is necessary to eliminate the conditions that lead to corruption, and not to fight against the consequences. Corruption arises because breaking the law in the Republic of Armenia is more profitable in many areas and the responsibility is much less, and the legislative and legal methods and measures provided are not in line with the challenges and needs of the society. Therefore, no matter how much you raise the status of the anti-corruption commission and create anti-corruption bodies, corruption will not disappear, because breaking the law is more beneficial for us than lawful behavior. Therefore, the Constitution should not be burdened with unnecessary things.

Meri Mnoyan