President Of Armenia

The Constitution provides for a three-tier court system. The highest court is the Court of Cassation. There are also two lower-level courts: The Court of Appeals; and courts of the first instance. Most cases originate in courts of first instance; appeals are lodged with the Court of Appeals and the Court of Cassation. The Constitutional Court rules on the conformity of legislation with the Constitution, approves international agreements, and decides election-related questions; however, it can only accept cases proposed by the President, approved by a two-thirds majority of Parliament, and cases on election-related issues brought by candidates who ran for parliament or president. These limitations, combined with the judiciary's lack of independence, prevented the Constitutional Court from ensuring compliance with the human rights safeguards provided by the Constitution. ... [Read More]

Events
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Armenia

Armenia has a Constitution that provides for the separation of powers; however, the directly elected President has extensive powers of appointment and decree that are not balanced by the legislature or an independent judiciary. The President appoints the Prime Minister, who is in charge of the Cabinet. Robert Kocharian was elected President in a multi-candidate election in 1998 after former President Levon Ter-Petrossian was forced to resign by his former political allies in the Government and Parliament. There were flaws in both rounds of the 1998 presidential elections. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers witnessed very substantial irregularities and concluded that the elections seriously challenged international democratic norms in regard to most key criteria. These irregularities inflated the number of votes for Kocharian. Nonetheless, the 1998 elections, the May 1999 Parliamentary and October 1999 municipal elections, and several 2000 by-elections ... [Read More]

Armenia

Armenia is a constitutional parliamentary democracy; however, the directly elected President has extensive powers of decree and appointment, including of the Prime Minister, that are not balanced by the legislature or an independent judiciary. Robert Kocharian was re-elected President in March. There were flaws and substantial irregularities in both the February and March rounds of the presidential elections and in the May parliamentary elections. A constitutional referendum on executive powers failed in a national vote in May. The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, in practice, judges were subject to pressure from the executive and executive branches, and corruption was a problem.The National Police and the National Security Service are responsible for domestic security, intelligence activities, border controls, and the police force. The civilian authorities maint ... [Read More]

Armenia

The Government did not investigate allegations of abuse by security services except in rare cases under pressure from human rights groups and only where death had resulted. In July 2001, the Human Rights Commission held open hearings on more than 50 complaints of torture by the Military Prosecutor's Office, which led to the filing of only one case during the year. Most complaints involved inhumane treatment, torture, and beatings of service men at the so-called reception and deployment stations (detention facilities of the military police). The next week, the Commission held another round of hearings together with the Military Prosecutor Gagik Jhangirian and Chief of the Military Police Vladimir Gasparian. Both Jhangirian and Gasparian denied the claims of torture. Subsequently family members of those killed staged a protest outside of the office, demanding Jhangirian's resignation. During the year, the Procuracy investigated 18 cases of torture sent by the Human Right Commission; some ... [Read More]

Armenia
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Armenia

In October 1999, five terrorists opened fire on a session of Parliament with automatic weapons. They killed the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament, the two Deputy Speakers, the Minister for Special Projects, and three deputies, and wounded the Minister of Privatization and four other deputies, some critically. Deputy Procurator General Jhangirian (who is also the Military Prosecutor) was placed in charge of the investigation of the shootings. By the end of 1999, 19 persons, including a National Assembly deputy (who was stripped of his immunity by a vote of that body), the then-presidential chief of staff and advisor, and the deputy chief of state television, had been imprisoned. The investigation was criticized by attorneys for the accused, by the media, and by representatives of human rights organizations for alleged human rights abuses, including physical and mental coercion of the detainees. For example, chief defendant Nairi Hunanian claimed he was threatened and tortured in ... [Read More]

Armenia (04/05)

The Government of Armenia's stated aim is to build a Western-style parliamentary democracy as the basis of its form of government. However, international observers have questioned the inherent fairness of parliamentary and presidential elections and constitutional referenda during each of the previous nationwide elections (1995, 1999, and 2003), citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the electoral commission, poor maintenance of electoral lists, and access to polling places. The new constitution of 1995 greatly expanded the powers of the executive branch and gives it much more influence over the judiciary and municipal officials. ... [Read More]

Deputy Secretary Armitage with President Kocharian of Armenia
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