Draft Text of Armenia’s New Constitution Is Ready, Says Justice Minister

YEREVAN — The draft text of Armenia’s new Constitution has been completed and is expected to be discussed at a meeting of the governing Civil Contract party’s executive board, as well as within its parliamentary faction.

The announcement was made by Armenia’s Minister of Justice, Srbuhi Galyan, during the first meeting of the Public Council attached to the Ministry of Justice.

“The Constitutional Reform Council has been working very actively. We hold meetings every week, and the text is already prepared, as I had promised. However, there is no news yet regarding its publication, as it has been decided that the draft will first be discussed within the Civil Contract party’s executive board and parliamentary faction. After that, a decision will be made about publishing the text,” the minister said.

Galyan also clarified that the conceptual principles of the new Constitution had been developed earlier, and the current draft text was prepared based on those provisions.

According to the minister, the guiding approach is to place the individual—citizens and the people—at the center of the Constitution, while no departure from the current system of governance is planned.

“We believe that the parliamentary system best reflects the principles of democracy. At the same time, we have introduced significant changes aimed at further decentralizing the branches of power and ensuring a better balance between them. For example, the National Assembly will be given additional oversight mechanisms over the prime minister’s activities,” Galyan noted.

Regarding the judiciary, the reforms propose introducing the possibility of a jury system. The draft also establishes, as a principle, the right to two levels of appeal, the option of written proceedings, and the possibility of appealing decisions of the Supreme Judicial Council, which is currently not allowed.

Earlier, Srbuhi Galyan had stated that the draft text of the new Constitution would be published in March 2026.