Vardan Ayvazyan explains when a person can be deprived of life (video)
Is the draft version of constitutional amendments better than the current Constitution? Republican Vardan Ayvazyan says it is too early to give such an assessment. “I do not understand this haste. The draft version of a number of chapters of the new Constitution was revealed only last week,” he says. On July 15, the specialized commission drafting constitutional amendments published the first draft of chapters 1-7 of the new Constitution envisaging Armenia’s transformation to a parliamentary republic, where the head of the state is not elected by popular vote. Talking to reporters on June 20, Mr Ayvazyan said to form the correct notion about the new Constitution we should wait for the publication of the full package. The expert says the draft version is much better than the working Constition but it is far from being perfect. “There are certain provisions which need to be made more comprehensive in order to ensure their systematic progress. When you read the chapters on human rights and freedoms, you will observe substantial progress. Now let me speak about the right to life. It is the basis of all rights and therefore needs to be defined correctly in order to avoid different interpretations. However, it is not clear when a person can be deprived of life. I think this can be done only in case of extreme necessity. For example when someone’s life is threatened, he can deprive the other person of life, also, when a prisoner has escaped and there are no other options, or in case of revolts and uprisings,” he said. Regarding the switch to a parliamentary republic, Mr Ayvazyan said, “The transition from a semi-presidential system to a presidential form of government only provides the technical side of issue. To ensure a positive outcome works should be done to raise the legal awareness of people and authorities. If non-competent people again become lawmakers the model will not work. We need to be armed with knowledge.” The final version of constitutional amendments is expected to be revealed in about six weeks.
