2009

November 11, 2009

AMBASSADOR OF GERMANY IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

On November 11 President of the Constitutional Court G. Harutyunyan received Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Republic of Armenia Mr. Hans-Jochen Schmidt. The visit of the new-appointed ambassador was cognitive and the conversation mainly went about two countries, especially round the deepening of cooperation and more strengthening relations of Constitutional Courts of Armenia and Germany. It came clear that in the result of cooperation of two countries constitutional courts the serious steps have been made on the way of perfection of inner balanced legal system, without which it is impossible to form a civil society. The mutual arrangement was acquired as to work out a program of coming joint activities.

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November 9, 2009

AMBASSADOR OF GREAT BRITAIN IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

On November 9 President of the Constitutional Court G. Harutyunyan received Charles Lonsdale, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the Republic of Armenia.
At guests request Mr. Harutyunyan introduced him cases discussed after the constitutional amendments upon individual applications before the Constitutional Court which are noticeably dominate and during the investigation of which more than ten RA laws have been recognized unconstitutional. Interlocutors also returned to events organized by the RA Constitutional Court, particularly to Yerevan International Conferences which traditionally pass in cooperation with the Venice Commission and the International Association of Constitutional Law.
Also other questions of mutual interest were discussed.

October 22-23, 2009

THE NEXT SEMINAR IN COOPERATION WITH GTZ

On October 22-23 the fifth joint seminar of the Constitutional Court and GTZ was held, which was titled: The improvement of the procedure of an individual application in the framework of the acting Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. The seminar was held for the members and the staff of the Constitutional Court with the participation of Mr. Roberto Bartone, Doctor of Law, and fellow at the Federal Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany. Since 1969 the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany has accumulated lots of information in this sphere, and Mr. Bartone, the members and the staff of the Armenian Constitutional Court had the discussion about German experience and functions of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia.
During the two-day sessions the following themes were discussed: The repayment of the damage in the result of the Constitutional Court decision; the recognition of the appliers right and the calculation of the repayment, The Constitutional Court as a responsible for the executive proceeding; the opportunities of the indication of the executive bodies and of the definition of their concrete rights, Reconsideration of the final judicial act on the basis of recognition of the violation of fundamental rights while implementing the applied provision in case of the conformity to the Constitution.
The reports in the framework of each theme were completed with elucidations, questions and answers.
President of the RA Constitutional Court Mr. Gagik Harutyunyan, Representative of GTZ in the Republic of Armenia Mr. Grigor Muradyan, and fellow at the Constitutional Court of Germany Mr. Roberto Bartone made greeting speeches.
The sessions were chaired by President of the RA Constitutional Court Mr. G. Harutyunyan.
As it was mentioned, the general subject of the seminar was very contemporary nowadays. The fact of recognizing more than 20 laws unconstitutional in the result of the consideration of cases based on individual applications to the RA Constitutional Court is illustrating the active influence of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia on present legal system, as well as that legislative and system amendments are problems which demand urgent solution. Its not accidental that Venice Commission pays special attention to these matters planning to make discussions connected with the subject of individual applications at the end of the year in the aim of making clear the general standards of European developments. International large-scale forum with the participation of European Court of Human Rights, Venice Commission, GTZ and other organizations interested in the problem of inquiring individual appeals which will be organized by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia next year at the last ten-day period of October will become the illustration of the influence of the Constitutional Court on these system amendments.
Presenting all these in his opening speech, G. Harutyunyan added that there are serious opportunities to develop the system by a range of changes, however, the problem of the effective implementation of decisions concerns yet, which also depends on the activity of the institute of new circumstances. The Constitutional Court has already once recognized that Institute entirely unconstitutional by its decision and the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia made essential legislative amendments in this concern.
Nevertheless, the Institute continues to work ineffectively, especially in the sense of the restoration of the rights of the citizens applied, in result, the individual applications received by the Constitutional Court become predominant: today the examination of questions on the constitutionality of laws approximately by 99 percent are carried out through the individual applications. And another serious problem comes into existence: it is beyond understanding, for example, why the violation of the conventional rights has compensative consequences and the violation of the constitutional rights does not give such opportunities.
The two-day joined seminar was the way of mastering of a new experience finding ways of making the capability of the Institute of the individual applications more effective, by changing ideas a good opportunity to develop new suggestions by analyzing discussing the subject deeply.

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October 1-3, 2009

XIV YEREVAN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
"INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE OF INTERACTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS AND PARLIAMENTS IN GUARANTEEING THE SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION"

May 27, 2009

Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany and its Role in the Development of European Constitutionalism.
G. Harutyunyan's Presentation on adoption of Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, Yerevan

April 15-17, 2009

Characteristics of Constitutional Justice in the Countries of Young Democracy.
G. Harutyunyan's Communication at the Ibero-American Constitutional Conference, Merida, Mexico

January 22-24, 2009

The First World Conference on Constitutional Justice Organs

From January 22 to January 24 in Cape Town (Republic of South Africa) by initiative of regional bodies of constitutional justice, Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa and Venice Commission of the Council of Europe the First World Conference on Constitutional Justice took place.
Delegations of the Constitutional Courts from 93 countries have participated to the given Conference.
The Conference was original by its nature, because it was not only historically the first one, which symbolized the new stage of international cooperation in this sphere, but it also gave opportunity to 400 representatives from different continents made clear the peculiarities of guaranteeing the supremacy of Constitution, which are of vital importance for stable and harmonious progressing of social society.
President of the RA Constitutional Court G. Harutyunyan representing the international organization "Conference of the Constitutional Control Organs of the Countries of Young Democracy" made the report on "Constitutional Jurisdiction and Developing Society" (it is allocated on the web-sites of the RA Constitutional Court and the Venice Commission).
At the Conference the separate reports were presented by the following regional/linguistic international organizations: Conference of the European Constitutional Courts, Association of Constitutional Courts using the French Language (ACCPUF), Ibero-American Conference on Constitutional Justice (CIJC), Southern African Judges Commission (SAJC), Union of Arab Constitutional Courts and Councils (UACCC). After the general discussion of the presented reports, the special workshops were organized in nine regional/linguistic groups. On the results of these workshops the reports were prepared to be presented on the panel session to be held on the second day of the Conference.
On January 24 the President of the RA Constitutional Court made concise analytic report on the written and oral speeches presented by the delegations of around 40 countries in the united group and presented not only the special peculiarities of international experience of constitutional review in the last millennium, but also, having touched upon the present challenges, presented fundamental tends of system development in perspective, answered to many questions of representatives from different countries.
The 1st World Conference on Constitutional Justice having highly appreciated three-day discussions results, as well as the necessity for further strengthening the international cooperation in this sphere, particularly decided, first of all, to gave importance to the further strengthening of cooperation of constitutional justice bodies and the periodical organisation of international conferences, secondly, to establish permanently acting Bureau of international conference of constitutional justice bodies: regional and linguistic with the composition of Presidents of 9 acting groups, thirdly, to include in the composition of Bureau the representatives of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and continue an active cooperation with it, fourthly, to commission the Bureau within three years to prepare the 2nd World Conference on Constitutional Justice, clarifying topics of discussions, the venue and the dates of the Conference.
Armenia, in the name of the President of the RA Constitutional Court, during next years will continue to remain one of 10 members of the Bureau of the World Conference.
This conference includes around 125 constitutional justice bodies.

Constitutional Jurisdiction and Developing Society.
G. Harutyunyan's Presentation at 1st International Congress of the Bodies of Judicial Constitutional Control (Cape Town, January 23, 2009, in Russian)

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