Artur Vanetsyan’s concerns over the situation around the Constitutional Court (CC) warn of imminent threats of establishing an autocratic regime in the Republic Armenia, according to Armenuhi Kyureghyan, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutyun’s (ARF-D) Supreme Body.
In an interview with Tert.am, the politician shared her comments upon the statement released by former National Security Service (NSS) chief, considering his call absolutely adequate in the light of the current developments.
″Behind the veil of this feigned democracy today, the constitutional principles for the separation of, and mutual checks and balances among, the legislative, executive and judiciary [branches of] power are being violated. The political authorities have embarked on a process of seizing the independent judiciary from the legislative and the executive, not restraining themselves to the choice of methods to achieve that. They have even moved to the elaboration and implementation of projects and strategies running counter to the Constitution and the principles of rule of law. This kind of concentration in eseence – of the executive, legislative and judiciary authorities in one place – contributes virtually to an emerging autocracy in Armenia. This, by definition, is a national security threat; hence the statement by the former NSS director needs to be considered in that context,″ she noted.
Kyureghyan also warned of the constitutional security threats stemming from the controversial law proposing early retirement mechanisms to the CC judges.
″The maintenance of the constitutional order is a fundamental national security issue, with the Constitutional Court being the main guarantor of the judiciary authorities’ independence and constitutional security. Any arbitrary crackdown on constitutional security is a threat to the country’s security, and hence the Constitutional Court deals directly with the issue by virtue of being a key security guarantor″ she added.