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The Venice Commission has released a preliminary opinion of the draft amendments to the Constitution of Armenia , according to the website of the Venice Commission. The draft amendments were published on July 15 by the Commission on Constitutional Reforms under the President of Armenia.

The Venice Commission says it welcomes the work done by the Constitutional Commission of Armenia. Thanks to an open dialogue with the Venice Commission, important improvements have been made on a text which was already a very good basis for the constitutional reform.

Nonetheless, the Venice Commission made some recommendations for the further improvement of the draft. The Venice Commission highlighted notably the following points: - limitations to the right to vote and the right to be a candidate for the National Assembly should be lifted; the electoral system should not be set out in detail in the Constitution: the possibility of a second round between the two most voted parties of alliances should be removed; the prohibition of forming new factions in the Assembly during the whole term of a legislature should be removed as it would limit the free mandate of Members of Parliament .

As concerns the Judiciary, there should be no interference of a political organ in the procedure of dismissal of judges and in the appointment of judges and court chairpersons of the Court of Cassation, the Venice Commission said.

“The Venice Commission encourages the Armenian authorities to continue the discussions with all political forces and civil society in order to clarify any misunderstandings and to ensure the widest possible support for the reform. 198. The Venice Commission will be pleased to continue its cooperation with the Armenian authorities for this important reform,” the document says.

As reported, the Expert Commission on Constitutional Reforms under the Armenian President published on July 15 the draft of the new Constitution of Armenia. By the new draft Constitution, a president is elected into office for a term of 7 years instead of the current term of 5 years. The president shall be a permanent resident of the Republic of Armenia for the previous 7 years – instead of the current 10 years. Besides, under the new draft, a president may serve only one term. The new draft, unlike the Constitution currently in force, bans the president from being member of a political party. Article 125 of the new draft Constitution establishes the procedure of a presidential election. The president shall be elected by an assembly consisting of an equal number of Armenian parliament deputies and local government bodies’ representatives nominated by municipalities themselves.

The prime minister of the country becomes the supreme commander-in-chief of the Armenian armed forces in times of military operations. PM is appointed by the president within three days after the start of work of the newly elected parliament. In particular, the president confirms the candidate nominated by the political force that won the elections to National Assembly. No more than 13 ministries can be set up, and there is a post of deputy prime minister.

Public discussions of the new draft Constitution will be held until late July. The draft may be amended if any acceptable proposals are submitted. Then the document will presented to the Armenian president and, if approved, to Armenia’s National Assembly.