Armenia’s Constitution Contains No Territorial Claims Against Azerbaijan, Constitutional Court President Says

YEREVAN – The President of Armenia’s Constitutional Court, Arman Dilanyan, has stated that Armenia’s Constitution does not contain any territorial claims — not against Azerbaijan, nor any other country. Speaking to Azatutyun (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Dilanyan dismissed accusations from Azerbaijani officials regarding territorial claims as baseless, emphasizing that the Constitution underwent extensive international legal review prior to being adopted by referendum.

“Our Constitution went through various international legal evaluations before it was put to a national vote. It was reviewed by numerous experts, including the Venice Commission. I am confident that if there had been any indication of territorial claims against any country’s territorial integrity, it would have been raised by those experts,” Dilanyan said.

He further stressed that international law obliges states to respect one another’s territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders:
“A country cannot unilaterally decide to adopt a legal document that includes direct encroachments on another state’s territory. Even the mere formulation of such a claim would constitute a direct violation of international legal norms. I am convinced that our Constitution contains no such provision.”

Baku has made the removal of a reference to Armenia’s 1990 Declaration of Independence from the Constitution’s preamble a precondition for signing a peace treaty. The Declaration includes mention of the unification of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Several months ago, Armenia’s Constitutional Court ruled that only the provisions of the Declaration of Independence explicitly incorporated into the Constitution hold constitutional force. Today, Dilanyan reiterated that the preamble itself is not considered part of the Declaration:
“The reference in the preamble is not a wholesale adoption of the Declaration. It does not mean the entire Declaration has been integrated into the Constitution.”