Armenian NGOs Warn Vardanyan’s Political Past Threatens Constitutional Court Independenc

Civil society representatives have issued a statement regarding the nomination of Vladimir Vardanyan for the position of Judge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia, specifically stating: 

By decree of the President of the Republic of Armenia, the candidacy of Vladimir Vardanyan—member of the ruling Civic Contract party and Chair of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of the National Assembly—was nominated for the vacant position of Judge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia. On the same day, Vladimir Vardanyan announced the termination of his membership in the Civic Contract party, and on 19 March he submitted his resignation to the President of the National Assembly.

The prohibition on a Constitutional Court judge being affiliated with a political party or engaging in political activity is directly stipulated in Article 4(5) of the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Armenia On the Constitutional Court, and also follows from Article 12(2)(2) of the same law and Article 164(9) of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. Although, under a literal interpretation, these provisions apply to the period following election as a Constitutional Court judge, their evident purpose is, first and foremost, to exclude any linkage between a Constitutional Court judge and political forces, thereby safeguarding against risks to the Court’s independence and impartiality arising from such connections.

In this context, although Vladimir Vardanyan has relinquished his parliamentary mandate and terminated his membership in the ruling political party, the fact that he has been engaged in political activity and party membership for more than seven years raises, at least prima facie, doubts regarding his ability to serve impartially as a Constitutional Court judge. Moreover, from the perspective of an objective observer, such political affiliation in itself precludes the effective management of the aforementioned risks.

We deem it necessary to recall that a similar situation arose in 2018 during the process of appointing Hrayr Tovmasyan as a judge, and subsequently as Chair, of the Constitutional Court. In that case, the same overt political affiliation served as grounds, inter alia, for then-opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan to characterise the appointment as a “secondment” by Serzh Sargsyan to the Constitutional Court.

We, the undersigned civil society organisations, consider that long-term membership in a political party and parliamentary faction—especially when accompanied by active political engagement, public positioning, and leadership of a standing parliamentary committee—cannot reasonably be neutralised by merely relinquishing a mandate or terminating party membership. Such steps cannot guarantee the severance of political and party ties or eliminate political influence, including ideological alignment with the respective political force, which is a natural phenomenon.

Even if one were to assume, conditionally, that the risk of maintaining party and/or political ties or dependencies could somehow be mitigated by relinquishing the mandate (which we do not consider reasonable), it is nonetheless evident that such actions cannot a priori eliminate the candidate’s ideological alignment with the given political force. This alone is sufficient to cast doubt on the independence and impartiality of the candidate, should he be appointed as a Constitutional Court judge.

Based on the above, we call on the National Assembly of Armenia to refrain from voting in favour of Vladimir Vardanyan’s candidacy for the position of Judge of the Constitutional Court.

Law Development and Protection Foundation

Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center

Community Mobilisation and Support Center NGO

Regional Center for Democracy and Security

New Justice Culture NGO

Armenian Progressive Youth NGO

Yerevan Press Club

Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office

Protection of Rights Without Borders 

Helsinki Association human rights protection NGO

Helsinki Citizens Assembly Armenian Committee

Union of Informed Citizens NGO

Democracy Development Foundation