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The President may exercise his powers to grant or discontinue his nationality exclusively in the manner prescribed by law

June 1, 2018 By administrator

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Recently, a group of artists, intellectuals and politicians have addressed an open letter to the President of Armenia, Zhirayr Sefilyan on granting Armenian citizenship. They demanded Jirayr Sefilyan’s 2004 Citizenship. Considering the first application submitted as a legal document, which maintains legal force and waits for a legitimate response, and grants it the RA citizenship on the date of rejection of the first application. Armenpress applied to the Public Relations Department of the Presidential Administration to find out the position of the Armenian President regarding the issue.
“Article 134 of the current Constitution defines that the President of the Republic of Armenia, in the cases and in accordance with the procedure, shall settle the issues concerning granting the citizenship of the Republic of Armenia and termination of the citizenship of the Republic of Armenia.

In other words, the President of the Republic of Armenia can exercise his powers of granting or suspending citizenship exclusively within the scope of the procedure prescribed by law, and in accordance with the said amendments to the law, a new person must submit a new application by the relevant commission and then, presentation to the RA President, “the Public Relations Department of the Presidential Administration of Armenia clarified.

The administration noted at the same time that, Article 15, paragraph 55, of the Constitution, which was effective at the time of the adoption of the decree, was a legal basis for President Serzh Sargsyan’s Decree NN-311-A on rejecting the application for Jirayr Sefilyan’s citizenship on November 18, and Articles 13 and 26 of the RA Law on “Citizenship of the Republic of Armenia”.

ԵՐԵՎԱՆ, 1 ՀՈՒՆԻՍԻ, ԱՐՄԵՆՊՐԵՍ: Վերջերս մի խումբ արվեստագետներ, մտավորականներ և քաղաքական գործիչներ բաց նամակով դիմել էին ՀՀ նախագահին՝ Ժիրայր Սեֆիլյանին ՀՀ քաղաքացիություն շնորհելու հարցով։ Նրանք պահանջում էին ՀՀ քաղաքացիություն ստանալու վերաբերյալ Ժիրայր Սեֆիլյանի 2004 թ. ներկայացրած առաջին դիմումը համարել իրավական ուժը պահպանած և իրավապատշաճ պատասխան ակնկալող փաստաթուղթ և նրան ՀՀ քաղաքացիություն շնորհել առաջին դիմումը մերժելու օրվանից։ «Արմենպրես»-ը դիմեց ՀՀ նախագահի աշխատակազմի հասարակայնության հետ կապերի վարչությանը՝ հարցի հետ կապված ՀՀ նախագահի դիրքորոշմանը տեղեկանալու համար։
«Գործող Սահմանադրության 134-րդ հոդվածը սահմանում է, որ ՀՀ նախագահն օրենքով սահմանված դեպքերում և կարգով լուծում է Հայաստանի Հանրապետության քաղաքացիություն շնորհելու և Հայաստանի Հանրապետության քաղաքացիությունը դադարեցնելու վերաբերյալ հարցերը:

Այսինքն, Սահմանադրության նշված կարգավորման ուժով ՀՀ նախագահը քաղաքացիություն շնորհելու կամ դադարեցնելու հարցերի վերաբերյալ լիազորությունը կարող է իրացնել բացառապես օրենքով սահմանված կարգի շրջանակում, իսկ համաձայն օրենքի նշված կարգավորումների՝ անհրաժեշտ է անձի կողմից նոր դիմումի ներկայացում, համապատասխան հանձնաժողովի կողմից դրա քննարկում, այնուհետև՝ ՀՀ վարչապետի կողմից առաջարկության ներկայացում ՀՀ նախագահին»,-պարզաբանեցին ՀՀ նախագահի աշխատակազմի հասարակայնության հետ կապերի վարչությունից:

Վարչությունից միաժամանակ նշեցին, որ 2008 թվականի նոյեմբերի 18-ի՝ Ժիրայր Սեֆիլյանի Հայաստանի Հանրապետության քաղաքացիություն ստանալու վերաբերյալ դիմումը մերժելու մասին ՀՀ նախագահ Սերժ Սարգսյանի ՆՀ-311-Ա հրամանագրի համար իրավական հիմք է հանդիսացել հրամանագրի ընդունման պահին գործող Սահմանադրության 55-րդ հոդվածի 15-րդ կետը և «Հայաստանի Հանրապետության քաղաքացիության մասին» Հայաստանի Հանրապետության օրենքի 13-րդ և 26-րդ հոդվածները:

What are the powers of New Armenian president?

March 2, 2018 By administrator

powers of Armenian president

YEREVAN. – Armenia will shift to the parliamentary system of government starting April when the powers of the incumbent president will expire, the amended Constitution of Armenia says.

For the first time the president is elected by the National Assembly. The newly elected president of Armenia will have more limited powers and the prime minister in fact will be the first statesman in the country.

What is the status of a new president?

According to Article 123 of the amended Constitution, the President of the Republic shall be the head of the State. The President of the Republic shall observe the compliance with the Constitution. In the course of exercising his or her powers, the President of the Republic shall be impartial and shall be guided exclusively by state-wide and nation-wide interests.

The President of the Republic shall perform his or her functions through the powers prescribed by the Constitution.

Under the previous Constitution, the president had to be the guarantor of the independence, territorial integrity and security of the Republic of Armenia. The new president does not have these powers.

How the president is elected?

According to the new Constitution, the president is elected for a term of seven years, while previously the president was elected for five years. The same person may be elected as a president only once. The new president may not hold any other position, engage in entrepreneurial activities or perform other paid work. He may not hold membership in any political party.

Everyone having attained the age of forty, having held citizenship of only the Republic of Armenia for the preceding six years, having been permanently residing in the Republic of Armenia for the preceding six years, having the right of suffrage and having command of the Armenian language may be elected as President of the Republic.

The candidate having received at least three fourths of votes of the total number of Deputies shall be elected as President of the Republic.

What powers will the new president have?

The President of the Republic shall sign and promulgate a law adopted by the National Assembly within a period of twenty-one days, or shall apply within the same time period to the Constitutional Court for the purpose of determining the compliance of the law with the Constitution. The president has no right to dissolve the National Assembly as well as to appoint early elections.

The President can immediately accept the resignation of the Government and make changes in the composition of the government upon recommendations of the Prime Minister.

Foreign Policy

President can conclude conclude international treaties, upon recommendation of the government. He is authorized to appoint and recall diplomatic representatives to foreign states and international organisations, upon recommendation of the Prime Minister, to receive the letters of credence and letters of recall of diplomatic representatives to foreign states and international organizations, to approve, suspend or revoke international treaties not requiring ratification.

Armed Forces

According to the new Constitution, the president can appoint and dismiss the supreme command of the armed forces and of other troops under recommendation of the Prime Minister. He can confer the highest military ranks.

President is no longer the supreme commander of the Armed Forces and in the event of the war, the Prime Minister will confer the powers.

When will the new president assume the office?

The President can immediately accept the resignation of the Government and make changes in the composition of the government upon recommendations of the Prime Minister.

Foreign Policy

Armed Forces

President is no longer the supreme commander of the Armed Forces and in the event of the war, the Prime Minister will confer the powers.

When will the new president assume the office?

The new president will take office on April 9. The president will take oath of office at a special session of the parliament on the same day.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s Barzani will hand over presidential powers on November 1: official

October 29, 2017 By administrator

SULAIMANI, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Massoud Barzani, considered the illegitimate president of Iraqi Kurdistan, will not extend his presidential term beyond Nov. 1, a Kurdish government official said on Saturday.

His decision came just weeks after a referendum on Kurdish independence backfired and triggered a crisis for Iraq’s Kurds who had been enjoying a period of unprecedented autonomy.

A plan to divide up the president’s powers was outlined in a letter Barzani sent to the Kurdish parliament on Saturday, the official told Reuters. The plan asks parliament to distribute the president’s powers among the government, parliament and judiciary.

Barzani’s current term was set to expire in four days, the same date that presidential and parliamentary elections were due to be held. However, those elections were delayed indefinitely last week, amidst an escalating regional crisis.

Critics say the Sept. 25 independence referendum, orchestrated and championed by the 71-year-old Barzani, has left a bleak outlook for Iraq’s Kurds.

Less than four weeks after Kurds in the region voted overwhelmingly to break away from Iraq, the central government launched a military offensive to wrest back the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which the Kurds regard as both their spiritual homeland, and a key source of revenue for their would-be independent state. It was one of several retaliatory measures taken by Baghdad, which vehemently opposed the referendum.

In a matter of days the Iraqi government has transformed the balance of power in the north of the country, exerting tremendous pressure on Barzani to step aside and wrecking decades-old dreams of Kurdish independence. Iraqi forces have continued to advance on all Kurdish-held territory outside the autonomous region’s borders.

Iraq’s prime minister demanded on Thursday that Kurds declare their independence referendum void, rejecting the Kurdish autonomous region’s offer to suspend its independence push to resolve a crisis through talks.

Earlier this year, Barzani said he did not intend to stand in the November elections. However, prior to the referendum, few expected he would stick to his promise.

Massoud Barzani has led Kurdistan region as president from 2005 for two executive terms and his last term was extended in 2013 by ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) for two more years on the condition that he can no longer run as president.

Barzani’s term as president of Kurdistan expired on August 20, 2015 but refused to step down and remains unofficially in office.

According to the law, Barzani cannot run for presidency anymore and his term cannot be extended. But the KDP insists that Massoud Barzani should remain president of the region.

Political risk analyst Kirk Sowell told Reuters on August 4, 2015 “If it were a stable democratic system, they would just vote him out of office. But it’s not,”

Barzani has closed the Kurdish parliament in October 2015 after his term expired and his KDP prevented Kurdistan parliament speaker, Yusuf Mohammed Sadiq, from Gorran Movement, from entering Erbil and Kurdistan PM Nechirvan Barzani has removed four members of his cabinet from the Change Movement and replaced them with KDP politicians.

Barzani said in March 2016 I will not leave power until Kurdistan get statehood. “The day we have an independent Kurdistan, I will cease to be the president of that Kurdistan”.

On October 24, 2017 Parliament of Kurdistan region, boycotted by the 2nd biggest Gorran Movement, has delayed presidential and parliamentary elections for 8 months amid tensions with the central government in Baghdad over disputed territories.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s main opposition Gorran party called on October 23, 2017 Massoud Barzani to resign after Baghdad seized swathes of disputed territory from Kurdish forces in response to an independence vote.

Kurdistan considered as the most corrupted part of Iraq. According to Kurdish lawmakers billions of dollars are missing from Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil revenues.

Barzani has been accused by critics of amassing huge wealth for his family instead of serving the population. Barzani’s son is the Kurdistan region’s intelligence chief and his nephew Nechirvan Barzani is the prime minister.

A Kurdish lawmaker said in March 2017 the amount of $1.266 billion from oil exports and Iraqi Kurdistan’s revenue has gone missing over the last three months.

Also the Talabani family including Jalal Talabani’s wife, Hero Ibrahim and her sons Bafel (Pavel) and Qubad and their relatives alongside other PUK leaders accused by critics of amassing huge wealth from oil business.