Government of Armenia exceeds its powers during build-up of Yerevan centre

The sitting of the Constitutional Court of Armenia that ended late on April 18 decided to satisfy the suit of Armen Arutyunyan, a human rights defender.

Mr. Arutyunyan addressed the Constitutional Court with a great number of evidences and facts in hand of breaching the Constitution in the course of governmental development program of the centre of Yerevan, and in particular of the Byuzand Street. The ombudsman's application mentioned, in particular, a breach of Article 31 of the Constitution of Armenia stipulating the inviolability of citizens' rights for property.

Note that for several last years in a row, the central part of Yerevan has been actively built up with elite houses, however, the construction process goes to the prejudice of the rights of indigenous inhabitants of the centre. The latter are subject in fact to forced resettling, while the compensation provided to them by the authorities is not enough to buy an apartment even in the outskirts, because of increased real estates values.

The Court found unconstitutional the decision of the government and legislative acts regulating the process of citizens' property alienation under the Yerevan centre development program. According to the Court's judgement, these acts are contradictory to several Articles of Armenian Constitution at a time. Meanwhile at the Court sessions on the human rights defender's suit, both the president and the government asserted through their representatives that the contested acts and decision are completely conformant to the Constitution.

The text of the statement of the Constitutional Court of Armenia runs that the government who appropriated the land in the centre of Yerevan "has exceeded its powers, while the issue of alienation of citizens' property and its delivery into the state ownership shall be resolved within the respective legislation." According to the latter, the alienated land plots shall have exclusively important strategic value, while the alienated real estate shall be used for the needs of the society and the state. However, so far, Armenia lacks this law and, respectively, the government of Armenia had no rights to deprive people of their property without the law.

According to the statement of the Constitutional Court, the government and the National Assembly of Armenia shall bring, in the period until October 1, the contested legal acts into the conformity with the Constitution.