Ousted Judge Barred From Constitutional Court Building

YEREVAN — One of the three members of Armenia’s Constitutional Court dismissed as a result of government-backed constitutional changes was denied entry to the court building in Yerevan on Friday.

Police officers guarding the building did not allow Hrant Nazaryan to enter the building less than two weeks after the Armenian parliament passed the changes drafted by Parliament majority My Step bloc. In a statement, the Armenian police said Nazaryan ceased to be a court justice when they came into force on June 26.

The amendments to the Armenian constitution extended a 12-year term limit to all 9 members of the Constitutional Court, which has been locked in a standoff with Pashinyan’s government for the past year. They thereby mandate the immediate dismissal of Nazaryan and two other judges, Alvina Gyulumyan and Felix Tokhyan, who had taken the bench in the 1990s. They also stipulate that Tovmasyan must quit as court chairman but remain a judge.

Nazarian, who has served in the country’s highest court for nearly 25 years, could not be reached for comment on Friday. He told RFE/RL’s Armenian service earlier that he and his ousted colleagues are planning to take legal action against the “violation of our rights.”

Gyulumyan has indicated that she will appeal to the European Court of Human Right (ECHR). She had worked as an ECHR judge from 2003-2014.