ECHR rejects complaint of former judges of Armenia’s Constitutional Court

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has rejected the complaint of the ex-chairman of the Constitutional Court of Armenia Hrayr Tovmasyan and three former judges of the Constitutional Court Alvina Gyulumyan, Hrant Nazaryan and Felix Tokhyan, Report informs referring to Armenian media citing the office of the Armenian representative for international legal issues.

The court declared the lawyers’ complaint inadmissible. The ECHR verdict is final and cannot be appealed.

Lawyers went to court in 2020 over alleged violations of their rights under several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights. It was about the right to a fair trial, the right to property, the right to respect for personal and family life, and the ban on discrimination. The plaintiffs noted that they were deprived of the opportunity to appeal in their own country the decision that terminated their powers as judges of the Constitutional Court, and this decision was arbitrary.

The government of Armenia filed its objections, arguing that the complaint was inadmissible and that there were no violations by the plaintiffs.

In June 2020, the Armenian Parliament amended the Constitution, depriving the aforementioned Constitutional Court judges of their powers. They then appealed to the ECHR.