Pashinyan's desire to update the constitution is an expression of the new realities in the region

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who saw the power of the "Iron Fist" during the forty-four-day Patriotic War, and was convinced that the power and professionalism of the Azerbaijani Army increased even more during local anti-terrorist measures, seems to have decided to remove the territorial claims against our country and Turkey from the legislative level. In any case, his opinions about Armenia's need for a new constitution give reason to say so.

It should be noted that N. Pashinyan spoke about this at the meeting held at the Ministry of Justice on January 19. He said that his country needs a completely new constitution, not a constitutional reform "to ensure its democratic legitimacy and longevity". According to him, the new constitution should make Armenia "more competitive and viable" in the new geopolitical and regional conditions: "The Republic of Armenia should have a constitution voted by the people and it should leave no room for doubt. This would be an important step confirming its legitimacy."

However, the prime minister has not said anything about when the new constitution will be adopted. It should be noted that the Armenian constitution was adopted by referendum on July 5, 1995. It was amended in November 2005 and December 2015. After the second amendment, the country switched from a semi-presidential system to a parliamentary system. Pashinyan, who came to power in May 2018, created a Constitutional Reforms Council in 2021 to improve the parliamentary system.

As we mentioned in the introduction, the opinions expressed by N. Pashinyan about the adoption of the new constitution are directly related to the geopolitical realities that have arisen in the region. Azerbaijan wants an officially confirmed guarantee from Armenia that there will be no more revanchism attempts. In this regard, President Ilham Aliyev held the conference "Karabakh: Returning home after 30 years" held at ADA University on December 6, 2023. Achievements and Challenges" Forum clearly expressed his opinion. The head of state said: "I think that when we talk about the peace agreement, we should not think only about the formal side of it. What do we actually need, that is, what does Azerbaijan need? We need a definitive guarantee that there will be no attempts at revanchism in Armenia...

So, we should have a guarantee that there will be no more war between the two countries, that Armenia fully agrees with the situation and that Azerbaijan really means what it says about territorial integrity. They should forget the former "mountainous Karabakh republic" and be constructive in the issue of border delimitation. This is the true peace."

While preparing the article, we reviewed the current constitution of Armenia. In the text of the document, nothing was directly written about the alleged genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915, Turkey, Azerbaijan, including Karabakh. However, the preamble of the main law of the Hays refers to the Declaration of Independence adopted in 1990, which contains all of them. In turn, the declaration refers to the joint decision of the Supreme Soviets of the Armenian SSR and the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Province "On the unification of the Armenian SSR and Nagorno-Karabakh" dated December 1, 1989. Also, it is called to recognize the events of 1915 as "genocide" in the international world.

In addition, in the 21st article of the constitution, which regulates issues related to the state symbols of Armenia, it is written directly in the coat of arms of the country - in the center of the shield, Mount Ararat, located in the territory of Turkey, where the Prophet Noah's ark sits, and which the Hay people call "Ararat", is depicted. This means territorial claims to Turkey. Thus, if the Armenian leadership wants peace with Azerbaijan and Turkey, if it is interested in the establishment of lasting stability and peace in the region, it should remove the provisions that cause territorial claims from the legislation.

As expected, the opposition welcomed Pashinyan's views on the new constitution with a bayonet. Five deputies from the "Hayastan" faction of former President Robert Kocharyan responded to the Prime Minister's initiative that the country needs a new constitution with a joint statement.

The statement says that Pashinyan is trying to give legitimacy to his future political decisions by changing the constitution. One of the MPs, Kristine Vardanyan, said: "What other territorial changes will the new constitution of Armenia demand from it?" The biggest change is the restoration of Azerbaijan's control over Karabakh. Pashinyan clearly tells us that our constitution should reflect this reality.

Vardan Pogosyan, an expert on constitutional law and one of the co-authors of the 2015 constitution, said in an interview to "News.am" that the existing document hinders Pashinyan. According to him, the first line of the basic law is already an obstacle to the realization of the prime minister's goals: "We are talking about the Declaration of Independence, which defines "Artsakh" and "genocide" as national goals. There are other provisions that prevent Pashinyan, including the issue of changing the territory of Armenia. He will also seek to repeal Article 18 of the constitution, which establishes the exclusive role of the Armenian Apostolic Church in preserving the Armenian identity. "Pashinyan will probably try to remove the image of Mount Ararat and the coat of arms of Noah's Ark."

According to him, Pashinyan did not take the path of changing individual provisions, because in this case, problems could arise in getting an opinion from the Constitutional Court: "If the whole constitution is changed, there is no need to get such an opinion."

Poghosyan is sure that in case of the above-mentioned changes, Armenia will not be as competitive as the authorities think, but will become a completely dependent state: "The Prime Minister shows that he complies with Azerbaijan's demands (?) and the "Third Republic of Armenia" based on the Declaration of Independence closes its history. Pashinyan wants to create a new republic."

Pogosyan also described the procedure for the adoption of the new constitution: "For the adoption of the constitution, the parliament must adopt a project related to the basic law with a 2/3 majority, and then a referendum must be held. 50% + 1 percent of the voting participants must vote in favor of the constitution for adoption.

He reminded that the prime minister has a majority in the parliament, so he will not face serious problems. According to him, Pashinyan will try to implement all these changes during the year.

Apparently, Pashinyan will face opposition from the radical-revanchist faction in the adoption of the new constitution as well as in a number of important issues. However, the national interests of Armenia, the achievement of peace with Azerbaijan and Turkey make it necessary to take such a step. It would be contradictory for Yerevan, on the one hand, to declare its readiness to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan and establish diplomatic relations with Turkey, but leave territorial claims to both countries in its constitution. It is not necessary to recognize territorial integrity only in words. Articles that contradict the logic of the Constitution should also be eliminated. This fact needs to be understood by the opposition as well as the Armenian authorities.

Elkhan SHAHINOGLU,
political scientist

Nikol Pashinyan occasionally expressed his critical views on the current constitution in his speeches in the parliament. It pointed out that the reference to the Declaration of Independence in the Basic Law, which reflected territorial claims on neighboring states, did not reflect reality. It is true that in the years when Armenia regained its independence, the political forces in that country made their territorial claims into the main law, eyeing foreign lands. That era is over. Pashinyan understands that it will be difficult to normalize relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey without changing the constitution.

I think that, regardless of the opposition of the radicals and the "Karabakh clan", if Pashinyan wants to adopt a new constitution, the majority of the Armenian society will support him. These are those Armenians who, despite the heavy defeat in the Second Karabakh War, voted for Pashinyan again. I assume that they will not say "no" to the new constitution. If Armenia, which is in a defeated state, wants peace and cooperation with Azerbaijan and Turkey, it should remove the known clauses from its constitution. Otherwise, it cannot hope for lasting peace with both its neighbors.

Zaur Mammadov,
political scientist

In order for the negotiations with Azerbaijan to be effective, Yerevan must make some adjustments. Armenia should recognize Karabakh as the territory of Azerbaijan in writing. The signing of the peace treaty can take place if Armenia changes all legal documents. It is not only about the constitution. What is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence is also inadmissible.

There is also a need to cancel the decisions taken by the Armenian parliament in this direction. Not only do they prevent peace, but their stay generally means that a peace treaty will not be signed. If Armenia wants peace, it must fulfill the students of our country so that a new page can be opened.

We see that Pashinyan interprets the tripartite statement signed just three years ago in a different way. Of course, if the peace agreement is signed without changes to the constitution, without removing the reference to the Declaration of Independence, the future leaders of Armenia can make stupid statements. Therefore, if there is a question of sustainable peace, then this issue should be approached comprehensively, and no haste should be shown. The Armenian society should accept this change itself through a referendum. After that, we will be able to comfortably talk about Armenia-Azerbaijan, Armenia-Turkey relations.

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