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Armenia’s President Armen Sarkissian has refused to sign into law a bill calling for changes to the Judicial Code and has unveiled his decision to apply to the Constitutional Court to challenge its constitutionality.

The draft law was submitted to the president for approval on March 22. Sarkissian discussed the bill with the justice minister and the chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, receiving clarifications from them. It was also discussed with the chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, legal scholars, experts, advocates and civil society representatives.

“The president attaches great importance to the judicial reforms and believes that they must be implemented in a systemic manner based on a specific strategy and within the framework of a general vision. This vision and strategy must be based on truly urgent issues, expert studies and serious analysis of the best international practice to propose systemic and reasonably interconnected solutions aimed at increasing the role and efficiency of the judiciary, ensuring the effective exercise of the right to a fair trial, as well a strengthening the guarantees for the independence and immunity of judges,” the president said in a statement on Monday.

“The regulations proposed by the law are situational and apparently problematic in terms of legal certainty, proportionality, separation of powers, as well as compliance with the constitutional principles and requirements of judicial independence.

“Based on the above-mentioned and summing up the expert conclusions, it can be concluded that the law substantially contradicts the Constitution. Therefore, the president has decided to apply to the Constitutional Court with a request to determine its compliance with the Constitution,” the statement said.