The issue of establishing a Supreme Court will be included in the Concept of Constitutional Reforms

Today, the specialised Commission on Constitutional Reforms, headed by Chairperson Yeghishe Kirakosyan, held a regular sitting.

In addition to organisational issues, the Commission also discussed the issue of merging higher courts, in particular the two concepts for establishing the Supreme Court, developed by the legal scholars of the Ministry of Justice and the Commission, and the Chairperson of the NGO. The general provisions of the Concepts having been circulated in advance in the Commission were presented by Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia Rustam Badasyan, legal scholars Armen Mazmanyan, Levon Gevorgyan, Arsen Tavadyan and Chairperson of the "Armenian Lawyers’ Association" NGO Karen Zadoyan.

The members of the Commission presented their arguments and counter-arguments about the Concept, and then voted on the two questions to decide which one would be included in the preliminary version of the Concept being submitted for public discussion. The first of the questions, which was voted for by seven of the 15 members attending the sitting, referred to the development of the constitutional justice system within the current model, and the second question referred to the decentralisation of the constitutional review and the merger of higher courts. Eight of the members of the Commission voted for this approach of the Ministry and the legal scholars, and the representative of the NGO.

Summing up the sitting, it was decided to include the concept of establishing the Supreme Court in the concept of constitutional reforms to be submitted for public discussion in the nearest future.