Armenia’s Judicial Tightrope Walk

One of the primary objectives of Armenia’s Velvet Revolution of 2018 was to reform the country’s judicial system and end corruption in all courts of law. Armenia has gone through two years of internal efforts to this end. These efforts were leading up to a referendum on constitutional changes. However, this highly anticipated referendum was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) recommended that Armenian authorities consult with the Venice Commission on the matter. This has put Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in a predicament whereby he needs to balance international cooperation, necessary internal reforms and limitations posed by the pandemic. 

The referendum—originally scheduled for April 2020—was proposing the amendment of Article 213 of the Armenian Constitution. Article 213 ensures that Constitutional Court judges appointed before 2018 can remain on the bench for many years despite the 12-year limit introduced in 2015. The elimination of Article 213 would have facilitated the potential removal of those judges, many of whom are extremely suspect amongst the Armenian public.