ArmInfo. The NA opposition factions "Armenia" and "I have Honor" have filed an application to the Constitutional Court, challenging the constitutionality of a law adopted by the authorities regarding the nationalization of Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC, as reported to the Pastinfo by Artsvik Minasyan, the secretary of the opposition faction "Armenia".
The publication notes that the ruling faction "Civil Contract" in the country developed a draft legislative amendment in just two weeks, allowing the executive branch to take over the management of "ENA". The presented package of laws was adopted by it during an extraordinary session of the National Assembly within 24 hours. The professional community is concerned about the lack of legal and legitimate instruments for nationalizing property, viewing this as a process of "taking away business" and an attempt to overthrow the constitutional order, which is unacceptable in a state governed by the rule of law.
The professional community is confident that this political process will ultimately fail in international courts. They believe that another verdict will be passed against the Republic of Armenia, and the financial burden will be shifted to the taxpayers of the Republic of Armenia. In other words, the citizens will bear the burden of the illegality of these authorities. Both opposition factions have now filed an application to the Constitutional Court demanding that the law adopted by the authorities be recognized as unconstitutional. They also petitioned for the legislative package to be suspended until the Constitutional Court makes a decision. As of now, a decision on accepting the application filed on July 11 has not been made. There is no information about this on the Constitutional Court website, and the applicants have not received a response. However, a decision is expected in the near future, given the three-day period established by law.
Artsvik Minasyan, a member of the "Armenia" faction in the Na, told Pastinfo in detail that several articles and amendments are being contested in the statement. The first issue concerns the right of ownership, particularly, this amendment invalidates a license without a court decision, which means a licensed company is deprived of the right to use its property as intended. Additionally, it allows for a property rights to be restricted by seizing property in ways not outlined in international treaties and the Constitution. The second group of violations pertains to the violation of the principle of non-retroactivity of the law, considered fundamental. For instance, an energy system enterprise could be held liable for violations that occurred before this law was enacted.
The third group of issues, according to Minasyan, involves the violation of the principles of independence and autonomy of autonomous bodies as outlined in the Constitution. Specifically, the amendments ignore the Public Services Regulatory Commission, which is as a collegial body. The appointment of a manager can only be made only by the commission chairman, when is then given the authority to make all decisions of the energy system enterprise. This deprives the owners, the board of directors and the executive director of the ability to make any decisions. Minasyan also noted that there are several formulations that violate the principle of legal certainty in determining the price.
Particularly, it is stated that the preemptive right belongs to the state, whereas in the case of LLCs and CJSCs, the preemptive right belongs to the shareholders. Now, this right has been granted to the state without amending these laws. According to Minasyan, obvious violations were also revealed in the procedures for adopting laws: no conclusions were provided and, the public was deprived of the opportunity to participate in making this decision through hearings. In other words, the participation process was violated. However, according to Artsvik Minasyan, the biggest threat is a possible crisis in the energy system, which is guaranteed by these amendments.
"If these amendments are implemented, the energy system will collapse," Minasyan noted. The deputy also reported that a request has been submitted to the Constitutional Court to suspend the amendments to the laws if the appeal is accepted for proceedings before a decision on the merits is made, as this could have extremely irreversible consequences for the system. Additionally, a request will be submitted to consider the case orally, as the issue has a significant public resonance and impacts crucial societal and state matters, including security. "Although we don't have high hopes for the current composition of the Constitutional Court, this is important for the international community," the parliamentarian noted.
