The Constitutional Court's verdict on pension reform is a worthy stroke in its shameful image, opposition Armenian MP Nikol Pashinyan says on his Facebook page.
"According to the Court's decision, though the mandatory component of the accumulative pension system is anti-constitutional, it will remain in force", he stressed. He added that if the Constitutional Court's decisions are put in order, it will become clear that the country is ruled by an illegitimate president and an illegitimate parliament and signs illegal interstate agreements.
On April 2 the Constitutional Court (CC) of Armenia cancelled the mandatory component of the accumulative pension system. Head of the Constitutional Court of Armenia Gagik Haroutiunyan read out the CC's 64-page verdict on 2 April. The Constitutional Court adopted a decision to recognize the law null and void in the parts that infringe the citizen's right to manage his own salary. The CC has recognized invalid all the disputable articles of the law, as they are interconnected. The CC has announced 30 September the deadline for the Government and the Parliament to bring the law in line with the requirements made. The decision of the CC comes into force at the moment of announcement.
However, Felix Tokhyan, member of the Constitutional Court of Armenia, said that the law on mandatory accumulative pension system will be in force till September 30 and the citizens must continue making accumulative pension payments. According to Tokhyan, the Constitutional Court did not claim that the accumulative pension system is anti- constitutional. "The Court's verdict says that the model of the system has some anti-constitutional items that should be brought in compliance with the Basic Law by the Parliament and the Government", he stressed. In the meantime, a number of lawyers and opposition politicians consider that after the Constitutional Court's verdict the employers and employees no longer have to make pension payments. Moreover, they say that from now on the payments will be made on the voluntary basis only.