The functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 27 January 2022 (8th sitting) (see Doc. 15432, report of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations
and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring
Committee), co-rapporteurs: Mr Kimmo Kiljunen and Ms Boriana Åberg). Text adopted by the Assembly on
27 January 2022 (8th sitting).
1. Armenia has made marked progress
in its democratic development since 2018. At the same time, in a short
period of time, Armenia has faced a series of events which have
each exerted a strong influence on the functioning of its institutions.
First, a broad-based peaceful movement, the Velvet Revolution, led
to a change in Armenia’s political leadership in May 2018. This
was confirmed by a snap parliamentary election in December 2018,
the organisation and conduct of which were commended by international
observers, including the Parliamentary Assembly. Armenia then became
involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh military conflict from September
to November 2020, and its parliament and government buildings were
subsequently stormed by demonstrators. This attempted overthrow
of the constitutional order came after the announcement of the signing
of the Trilateral Statement by the Prime Minister of Armenia, the
President of the Russian Federation and the President of Azerbaijan
on the night of 9 November 2020. Armenia then went through a serious
political crisis, with the government’s legitimacy being questioned,
including by some parts of the armed forces which publicly called
for its resignation in February 2021. After an electoral reform
was adopted in co-operation with the Council of Europe, it finally
held early parliamentary elections in June 2021.
2. In this context, the Assembly took stock of the situation
to assess what lasting achievements had emerged from the democratic
reform process that Armenia had embarked on, despite its recent
difficulties, what remained to be done and what could raise questions.
Its report focused on a limited number of themes that overlap with
the priority reforms that the Assembly had identified in its most
recent resolution on Armenia,
Resolution
1837 (2011) “The functioning of democratic institutions
in Armenia”: electoral reform, institutional balances and the establishment
of a democratic culture within the political sphere, judicial reform
and the media situation.
3. In general, the Assembly welcomes the fact that Armenia has
successfully emerged from the serious political crisis triggered
by the outcome of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The crisis was
resolved with the early elections in June 2021, which were organised
in a democratic manner, notwithstanding the highly polarised environment.
4. The Assembly also welcomes the pursuit of reforms, the launch
of new projects since the change of political leadership in 2018
and the degree to which Armenia has co-operated with the Council
of Europe, including at the level of its parliamentary delegation.
In particular, it welcomes the signing of the Protocol amending
the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to
Automatic Processing of Personal Data (CETS No. 223) in October
2019, the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on the
Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
(CETS No. 201, Lanzarote Convention) in May 2020 and the adoption
of the new Criminal Code and the new Code of Criminal Procedure
in 2021, both of which are much more in line with European standards
than the previous codes.
5. The Assembly notes that the recent conflict has had a major
impact on Armenia, as described in its
Resolution 2391 (2021) “Humanitarian
consequences of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan/Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict”. In particular, it again expresses its consternation at
the number of people killed, on all sides, and reiterates its demand
for the return of all Armenian prisoners of war in accordance with paragraph
8 of the Trilateral Statement. It also reaffirms the importance
of cultural and religious heritage and the urgent need to establish
mechanisms required for its protection and restoration. It once
again deplores the increasing number of speeches or acts that are
not conducive to the easing of tensions or the establishment of
normal relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Assembly welcomes
the transfer of landmine maps to Azerbaijan and calls on the parties
to continue their co-operation on demining efforts in the region.
It once again calls for a just and lasting resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, within the framework of the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group. Finally, it calls
for the implementation of the recommendations of the Commissioner
for Human Rights contained in her memorandum on the humanitarian
and human rights consequences of the conflict.
6. The Assembly also notes the consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict on Armenian politics, whether in terms of the place the
issue of national security occupies on the political agenda or the
intense polarisation of the political scene over the issue of responsibility
for the defeat brought about by the signing of the Trilateral Statement
of 9-10 November 2020.
7. With regard to elections and electoral reform, the Assembly
commends Armenia for the conduct of the last two national elections,
held in December 2018 and June 2021, which were free of the irregularities
that had tainted many elections in the past. As regards the snap
election in June 2021, it is also pleased to note that the opposition
has accepted the results, after having used the legal means at its
disposal to challenge them, and has not boycotted the new parliament’s
activities.
8. Overall, the Assembly welcomes the marked improvement in the
electoral framework in terms of the legislation on political parties
and the funding of electoral campaigns, and in terms of the voting
system, as noted by the European Commission for Democracy through
Law (Venice Commission) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR).
8.1 It
welcomes the efforts made to safeguard the integrity of the system
of political finance and enhance political parties’ transparency
and accountability. It also welcomes the lowering of the threshold of
votes required for a political party to receive public funding,
and the method of calculating the public funds to be allocated,
which, as the Venice Commission pointed out, favours small political
parties and consequently political pluralism.
8.2 It also welcomes the package of amendments, adopted in
April and May 2021, which addressed the majority of recommendations
raised in previous Venice Commission opinions and OSCE/ODIHR election
observation missions’ final reports. It notes that these amendments
have, inter alia, simplified the
voting system, lowered the premium offered to the coalition receiving
more than 50% of mandates in the National Assembly and reduced the
threshold for political parties to participate in the distribution of
seats, thereby promoting political pluralism.
8.3 Lastly, it welcomes both the inclusive and transparent
procedure for adopting these amendments and the fact that the amendments
of April and May 2021 had been discussed and prepared for a long time,
even though they were voted in very shortly before the elections.
9. The Assembly regrets, however, the political climate in which
the June 2021 elections took place, which was characterised by intense
polarisation and marred by increasingly inflammatory rhetoric among
key contestants. It also deplores the fact that women were sidelined
throughout the campaign, although in the end, electoral regulations
led to an increase in their representation in parliament. The Assembly
therefore calls on the political parties to bring about a change
of culture in this respect, as equal gender representation in elected office
must be backed up by a real opportunity for women to actively participate
in political life.
10. The Assembly calls on the Armenian authorities to complete
the reform of the electoral framework by taking on board the recommendations
of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR, in particular as regards
abolishing the ban on bi-nationals standing for election and enabling
voters to challenge voting results in their constituency. It also
calls on Armenia to implement the recommendation of the Congress
of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe by ensuring
all local elections are held on the same day and at least six months
apart from parliamentary elections.
11. As regards institutional balances and enabling a democratic
culture to take root in the political sphere, the Assembly condemns
the violent incidents that occurred in August 2021 between members
of the majority and the opposition in the National Assembly. It
calls on the majority and the opposition to engage with each other
in a constructive and respectful manner over clearly identified
and divergent policy directions. It notes that functional mechanisms
are in place to protect the opposition’s rights, enabling it to
play its role and propose alternatives. It calls on the parliamentary
majority to fully perform its role in terms of oversight and review
of government action, given that it holds the large majority of
seats.
12. The Assembly calls on the Armenian authorities to implement
their plan to reinstate a Ministry of the Interior and entrust it
with some of the law-enforcement agencies which are currently under
the direct authority of the prime minister. This long-standing recommendation
of the Assembly would increase the government’s accountability to
parliament for any law-enforcement matter. It also recommends that
the authorities examine the possibility of making several investigative
bodies, currently under the authority of the prime minister, independent.
13. The Assembly commends Armenia for introducing certain checks
and balances which have proved their effectiveness, whether it concerns
the President of the Republic of Armenia’s role as guardian of the constitution
or the Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman), whose independence seems
to be firmly established. In this respect, the Assembly calls on
the authorities to follow the recommendations of the Venice Commission
for strengthening the independence of the Human Rights Defender
in staff recruitment and management policies.
14. The Assembly also calls on the authorities to ensure that
the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption has adequate resources
to carry out checks on the disclosure of interests and assets of
public officials in general and judges in particular and on the
financial control of political parties. It also recommends taking
advantage of the next revision of the constitution to examine the
possibility of strengthening the independence of this commission
by constitutionalising its status.
15. The Assembly notes that since the peaceful change of power
in 2018, tensions have run very high between the Armenian authorities
on the one hand and the judiciary and certain judges of the Constitutional Court
on the other. It also notes the low level of public trust in the
judiciary and the perception that it suffers from a significant
degree of corruption and possibly has ties with opponents of the
current parliamentary majority. It deeply regrets the public confrontation
that took place between the government and the majority on the one
hand, and the former chairperson of the Supreme Judicial Council
and the former president of the Constitutional Court on the other.
It points out that while it is the responsibility of the authorities
to uphold the dignity of the judicial office and not to call judges’
integrity into question publicly and collectively, both judges and
the chairperson of the Supreme Judicial Council and the president
of the Constitutional Court are required to be neutral and impartial.
16. It welcomes the measures taken to promote the independence
of judges, such as increasing their allowances, setting the remuneration
of future “anti-corruption” judges at a higher level than that of
ordinary judges and the change in culture that seems to be under
way among pretrial judges, which has reportedly resulted in a sharp
rise in refusals of prosecutorial requests for pretrial detention.
17. It also notes that, in their opinions, both the Group of States
against Corruption (GRECO) and the Venice Commission took a generally
positive view of the composition of the Supreme Judicial Council,
an independent judicial body, and of the scope of its powers.
18. The Assembly calls for the reform of the judiciary to be continued
by:
18.1 introducing a proper mechanism
for appealing against decisions of the Supreme Judicial Council in
disciplinary matters, as is already the case with regard to the
recruitment and promotion of judges and as recommended by both GRECO
and the Venice Commission;
18.2 delivering tangible results in terms of sanctions against
undue interference with the administration of justice, in line with
GRECO’s recommendations;
18.3 establishing a neutral and competent body to provide confidential
counselling to judges on improper influences, conflicts of interest
and corruption within the judiciary, in line with GRECO’s recommendations.
19. With regard to the crisis that began in 2019 between the government
and certain judges of the Constitutional Court, the Assembly considers
that the implementation of the Constitutional Court model provided
for by the 2015 constitutional amendments could justify introducing
a single set of rules governing the conditions of service of the
court’s judges, in particular the length of their term, in order
to prevent some of them from serving beyond the twelve years provided
for by the amendments. It also notes that the appointment of the
former president of the Constitutional Court was made in such a
way as to make both his mode of election and the length of his term
of office exempt from full application of the 2015 amendments.
20. The Assembly notes that the authorities tried to find an honourable
solution to the crisis by offering early retirement to the judges
in question. It welcomes the talks which were conducted in this
respect, with the Venice Commission’s opinion being sought on two
occasions.
21. It regrets, however, that the Armenian authorities did not
follow the Venice Commission's recommendations to provide for the
renewal of the Constitutional Court while envisaging a transitional
period which would allow for a gradual change in the composition
of the court in order to avoid any abrupt and immediate change endangering
the independence of this institution. The Assembly points out that
the principle of irremovability is a guarantee of the independence
of the judiciary from the political authorities which must be respected.
22. As regards the media, Armenia recently faced a series of events,
including the Covid-19 pandemic and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
which led the authorities to severely restrict the independence
of journalists and freedom of expression on a temporary basis. The
Assembly notes that, as regards the dissemination of false information
and publications likely to cause panic in the context of the coronavirus
pandemic and the restrictions imposed by martial law, the authorities
tended to take drastic measures which were manifestly excessive
in terms of the curbs they placed on freedom of expression, even
if the aim pursued was legitimate. The authorities were able to
relax their rules regarding the coronavirus pandemic, however, and
the judicial review of martial law initiated by the Human Rights
Defender was effective.
23. Armenia has been facing an unprecedented level of disinformation
and hate speech since the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Armenian
authorities responded by increasing the fines for “insults” and
defamation, criminalising “serious” insults in general and providing
for fines and a prison sentence when directed at persons on account
of their public activities.
24. Reiterating its position that defamation should not be criminalised,
the Assembly calls on the authorities to:
24.1 ensure that the balance between the freedom of expression
guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights
(ETS No. 5) and the dignity of the person, which forms part of the
right to privacy protected by Article 8, is respected;
24.2 ensure that the legislation on penalties for insult and
defamation is applied uniformly by the prosecutor’s office, in a
restrictive sense, so that it is not used in an arbitrary manner
against individuals and the media;
24.3 develop tools other than preventive punishment to combat
disinformation and hate speech. In this respect, it calls on the
authorities to improve the training and status of journalists, make
systems of self-regulation effective and combat polarisation of
the media by increasing transparency in the area of media ownership;
24.4 use the reform of the Law on Mass Media of 2003 to make
comprehensive and inclusive reforms to the sector and continue the
co-operation with the Council of Europe in this respect.
25. The Assembly resolves to continue to closely follow developments
with regard to institutional balances and the establishment of a
democratic culture within the Armenian political sphere, judicial
reform and the media situation. In particular, it will follow the
implementation of the co-operation programmes related to the themes
contained in the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2019-2022
and ensure that these themes are also taken into account in the
2023-2026 action plan.
