ARM-2014-3-004
a) Armenia / b) Constitutional Court / c) / d)
14-11-2014 / e) DCC-1175 / f) On the conformity with the
Constitution of the provisions of Law on State Pensions / g) Tegekagir (Official Gazette) / h) CODICES (English).
Keywords of the Systematic Thesaurus:
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Fundamental Rights - Civil and
political rights - Right to property. (Right to property, limitations to right to
property, inheritance ) |
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Fundamental Rights - Civil and
political rights - Right to property - Other limitations. |
Headnotes:
In light of the constitutional
regulations on the right to property, its realisation,
the limitations and protection of the right to property, as well as the
necessity to guarantee the rule of law, any legal condition, especially a newly
added one, must have the legitimate aim to ensure more effective guarantees
that do not compromise any constitutional norm or principle.
Summary:
I. The applicant challenged the Law on
State Pensions. The specific provision at issue stipulated that a pension that
was unpaid, due to the pensioner’s death, could be inherited if the
application and the necessary documents were submitted to a pension granting
division within 12 months after the death of the pensioner. The applicant
argued that the abovementioned regulation contradicted the Constitution as it
constrained the right of a person to inherit the pension entitlements of the
retired.
II. The
Constitutional Court emphasised that the regulation
refers to a person’s
right to inherit the pension entitlements of the retired. Simultaneously, the
Court reiterated that the pension, being a means of social security, is also a
form of property, in accordance with the case-law of the European Court of
Human Rights. Thus, the Court stressed the importance to assess the
constitutionality of the argued provisions in light of the constitutional
regulations on the right to property.
The Court noted that the regulation on
the 12 months time limit for the inheritance of the
pension entitlements was added in the Law on State Pension in 2012. Previously,
regulations on pension inheritance were set out in the Civil Code. The Court
stated that the new regulation excludes the possibility to receive money if the
omission of that time limit occurred for justifiable reasons.
With the new regulation, the legislator
did not provide the possibility to recognise an
omission as a justification for not respecting a time-limit, in a judicial
matter. In this regard the Constitutional Court held that the absence of such
regulation jeopardises the complete realisation of the constitutional right to property,
particularly the protection of that right set forth in Articles 18 and 19 of
the Constitution.
The Constitutional Court held that the
time-limit is not conditioned by the demand to protect public values. Thus, it
is not directed at guaranteeing a reasonable balance between the owner and
other’s rights and the public
interest.
The Court emphasised
that, according to the Civil Code, one can accept the inheritance by submitting
the application to the notary within 6 months after opening the probate
process. The Court stated that this time-limit is not absolute. Even if the
person omits that time, he or she can still inherit the property if he or she
satisfies some legal conditions. One can accept the property without applying
to the Court if the other inheritors consent. The Code also stipulates the
possibility to request the Court to recognise the
omission of time-limit of 6 months as justified. The Civil Code also defines
another way of accepting an inheritance, particularly one can accept the
inheritance when he or she starts to dispose or administer the inherited
property de facto. The Court stated that the mentioned regulations also
refer to the inheritance of the pension of the retired.
As a result of the consideration, the
regulation «if the application and necessary documents are brought to the
department fixing the pension within 12 months after the death of the
pensioner» has been declared to be in contradiction with the Constitution and
void.
Armenian.