Constitutional and Legal Status of the President of the Republic of Armenia

Abstract

Introduction. The article is devoted to the institution of the President of the Republic of Armenia and changes in its constitutional status over the past 30 years. To form the regulatory framework of the rule-of-law state, the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia by referendum of 1995, amended by referenda of 2005 and 2015, was of key importance. At first, the institution of the President of the Republic of Armenia was strong enough: he was the head of the executive branch, he single-handedly appointed the Prime Minister, ministers, could unconditionally dissolve the legislative branch - the National Assembly, and make appointments in the judiciary system. That is, the principle of separation of powers was formal. The constitutional amendments of2005 limited the powers of the President of the Republic of Armenia. He had the right to appoint the Prime Minister only after agreement with the Parliament, he could dissolve the National Assembly in the cases and manner provided for in Art. 74.1. of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. For ten years, there was a form of semi-presidentalism in the Republic of Armenia, as in the Russian Federation. As a result of the constitutional amendments of 2015, in the context of the transition to parliamentary rule, the powers and functions of the President of the Republic of Armenia became strictly limited. He is elected by the Parliament, he cannot influence the decisions of the Parliament and the Government, he does not participate in the formation of the Government, which is not accountable to him. As a result, the office of the President of the Republic of Armenia is currently of ceremonial and representative nature. Materials and methods . The theoretical framework of this article consists of scientific works devoted to the institutions of the President of the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation. The authors also used the results of the analysis of law enforcement practice of the Republic of Armenia. The legal and regulatory framework of study was formed by the Constitutions and legislative acts of the Republic of Armenia, the Russian Federation and other states. Using both general research methods (historical, analytical) and special legal methods (system-structural, comparative-legal), the constitutional law of the Republic of Armenia and 30 years of experience in constitutional building were analyzed, as a result of which the existing theoretical and practical problems were identified, certain conclusions and proposals were made. Study results . The President, being the head of state, monitors compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia /Art. 123/, therefore, he should have separate functions and certain instruments. To exclude the dependence of the President on the parliamentary majority, the article proposes to change the mechanism of his election: to amend Article 125 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and grant the right to elect the President of the Republic of Armenia to all those extraparliamentary paries that took part in the parliamentary elections, but were not elected to the Parliament, receiving between three and five percent of the total votes. It is considered optimal to assign them 30% of the total number of mandates of deputies of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia. The governing body of each party elects delegates to participate in presidential elections. In the event of such elections, considering also that, according to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia, 30% of seats in the Parliament belong to the opposition, the President's dependence on the parliamentary majority will be excluded, and, in conditions of limited authority, he, at least, can easily put forward the topics of social and political discourse and influence public opinion, express his opinion on the appointment of the Prime Minister, and at least once a year, without fail, address the Parliament and the people. Discussion and conclusions. Strengthening the institution of the President in the parliamentary form of government can contribute to enhancing the role of the head of state as an arbitrator, effective activity of the Parliament and the Government of the Republic of Armenia and understanding the whole institution supported by the state budget.