CODICES

ARM-1998-1-001

a) Armenia / b) Constitutional Court / c)  / d) 18-02-1998 / e) DCC-90 / f) On the conformity with the Constitution of the provisions specified in the Development Credit Agreement (Health financing and primary health care development project) between the Republic of Armenia and the International Development Association / g) Tegekagir (Official Gazette) / h) CODICES (English).

 

Keywords of the Systematic Thesaurus:

 
 
1.3.5.1

Constitutional Justice - Jurisdiction - The subject of review - International treaties.

2.2.1.1

Sources of Constitutional Law - Hierarchy - Hierarchy as between national and non-national sources - Treaties and constitutions.

4.6.2

Institutions - Executive bodies - Powers.

5.4.19

Fundamental Rights - Economic, social and cultural rights - Right to health.


Keywords of the alphabetical index:

 

Health, protection, governmental programme / Treaty, international Development Association.

 

Headnotes:

 

The ratification and implementation of the Development Credit Agreement between the Republic of Armenia and the International Development Association is advisable in the view of the targeted State programmes developed based on the requirements of [ENG-ARM-A-34] Article 34 of the Constitution and the Law on Medical Aid and Service to the Population of the Republic of Armenia. The Agreement has been published in accordance with the established procedure.

 

Summary:

 

The hearing of the case was prompted by an application by the President to the Constitutional Court concerning the conformity with the Constitution of the provisions specified in the above-mentioned Agreement. According to the Credit Agreement, the International Development Association is committed to providing the Republic of Armenia the amount of seven million two hundred thousand Special Drawing Rights units in various currencies.

 

The Republic of Armenia, being the recipient of the credit, is committed to implementing the Project with maximum efficiency, the main purpose being to raise the quality of primary health care, to target expenses in this area and to secure the participation of communities in determining local health care priorities and the preservation of the basic health services.

 

In accordance with [ENG-ARM-A-34] Article 34 of the Constitution, «...each person has the right of health protection. The procedure for medical assistance and service is defined by law. The State implements the programmes of health protection of the population».

 

However, during 1996-1997 the Government failed to take the necessary and proper steps to meet completely the requirements of [ENG-ARM-A-34] Article 34 of the Constitution and the Law on Medical Aid and Service to the Population of the Republic of Armenia.

 

According to the Constitution, the Government is responsible for the implementation of programmes on health protection of the population. These are characterised by law as annual target programmes directed at providing the population with health protection; following their approval by the Government, the programmes are to be published by the mass media (Article 1.3 of the Law on Medical Aid and Service to the Population of the Republic of Armenia). Moreover, the Law secures to every person the right to medical aid and service free of charge within the framework of the special state programmes (Article 4.2); Article 10 of the Law secures this right specifically for children.

 

Despite the fact that the said Law officially entered into force in April 1996, the first attempt to adopt a State targeted programme took place in May 1997 and was not in complete conformity with current legislation.

 

Such a situation resulted in a significant distribution in 1997 of assets allocated for health care within the State budget (Government Edict no. 44, 19 January 1998), when the said projects did not exist and State health care institutions were not developed properly and could not ensure implementation of [ENG-ARM-A-1] Article 1 of the Constitution, which declares the Republic of Armenia to be a social State paying the proper attention to the health protection of the population.

 

The task of the targeted use of credit and budgetary assets provided for the health care system is directly linked with conformity with constitutional requirements, and that system requires substantial improvement.

 

Although the Constitutional Court found that the provisions of the Agreement are in conformity with the Constitution, the Court proposed that the Government take urgent measures to create the necessary prerequisites for the targeted use of credit and budgetary funds in the field of health care, so as to secure the complete and continuing implementation of [ENG-ARM-A-34] Article 34 of the Constitution as well as the Law on the Medical Assistance and Service.

 

Languages:

 

Armenian, Russian, English (translation by the Court)