Judicial and Constitutional Reforms after Armenia's Velvet Revolution -
Balance or Clash of Powers?
Armenia’s Velvet Revolution in 2018 had led to a wide democratic transformation. Nikol Pashinyan and his My Step Alliance gained power in the Armenian National Assembly and the Armenian Government. However, within the two years following the revolution, the tensions between the Government and the National Assembly on the one side and the Constitutional Court on the other side grew steadily. Prime Minister Pashinyan has stated more than once that he wishes to change the composition of the Constitutional Court as he believes most of the current judges to be partisan and remnants of the old regime. In the beginning of 2020, the Armenian Government and the National Assembly voted for a public referendum that should decide about the future of the composition of the Constitutional Court. Due to the coronavirus, the referendum was postponed to a later – still unknown – date.
After a 20-minute presentation by the experts, we will discuss about the legitimacy of the claim by the Government and the National Assembly to change the composition of the Constitutional Court, about the further prospects of the judicial reforms in Armenia, and the changes in the judiciary as part of the overall democratic transition.