Epress.am News from Armenia
The bill regulating rule of law (or legal regime) during a state of emergency that was passed at its second reading in parliament was unconstitutional from the start, said Armenian National Congress (HAK) representative Gagik Jhangiryan, speaking to reporters in the Armenian capital earlier today.
Recall, under the law, the president of the republic can turn to the military for help if police and other security forces are unable to enforce emergency rule — in which case military personnel will be allowed to use riot equipment and live ammunition in accordance with an Armenian law on the police.
Jhangiryan considered unconstitutional, in particular, Article 9 of the bill and all those articles with references to the defense ministry implementing measures.
The opposition representative cited Article 8.2 of the RA Constitution, according to which “the armed forces shall ensure security, defense and territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia, as well as inviolability of its borders.” What this means, according to Jhangiryan, is that the armed forces’ issue is to defend the country and its security from foreign advancement.
Jhangiryan also cited certain paragraphs of Article 55, according to which the president has the authority to call on the use of armed forces “in the event of an armed attack against the Republic [or] an imminent danger thereof or declaration of war.”
According to the HAK representative, there is one another occasion during which the president can call on the armed forces — when martial law is declared, but only if the aforementioned conditions are present.
The absence of such a law and the constitutional barrier, Jhangiryan continued, didn’t interfere with the adoption of an unconstitutional declaration on Mar. 1, 2008, and the declaration of a state of emergency being.
According to the opposition member, with this new law, the authorities are sending a message to the subconscious of many not to riot or have an uprising.