Constitutional Court Declares Procedure for Terminating Artur Stepanyan's Powers Unconstitutional

The Constitutional Court has satisfied the application of former judge Artur Stepanyan of the Court of General Jurisdiction of the First Instance of Yerevan City, regarding the declaration of the procedure for adopting a decision by 5 votes in the SJC as inconsistent with Article 94, Part 6 of the Constitution. Artur Stepanyan had applied to the Constitutional Court, requesting that a number of articles of the "Judicial Code" of the Republic of Armenia be declared contradictory and in violation of the relevant articles of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. The former judge's representative at the Constitutional Court is human rights defender Siranush Sahakyan.

On July 9, 2024, the Supreme Judicial Council terminated Stepanyan's powers based on a significant disciplinary violation. The proceedings against him were initiated by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia. The judge was accused of violating a procedural deadline, which, according to the body initiating the proceedings, led to the violation of both a norm of procedural law and a rule of judicial conduct. The motion was submitted to the SJC by the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, Grigor Minasyan.

By decision of the SJC on June 11, a court session was scheduled; all members of the Council participated in the session held on June 17. 5 members of the Council voted in favor of the SJC decision No. ԲԴԽ-61-Ո-Կ-8 regarding the termination of the judge's powers, 3 members expressed a dissenting opinion, and information regarding the votes of the other 2 members is not available. A positive conclusion required the positive vote of the majority of the Council, but the examination of the case was completed on the same day and the judge's powers were terminated on July 9. By applying to the Constitutional Court, Artur Stepanyan requested that Article 94, Part 6 of the Constitutional Law be declared contradictory to and in violation of Article 61, Part 1 and Article 63, Part 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, also taking into account the interpretation given to the mentioned provision, according to which the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council on terminating a judge's powers is adopted without calculating the votes of the Council members who participated in the court session.

The Constitutional Court satisfied this claim and declared the first sentence of Article 94, Part 6 of the Constitutional Law "Judicial Code of the Republic of Armenia" contradictory to Article 49 of the Constitution in conjunction with Article 75, Article 164, Part 1, Article 174, Parts 1-3, and Article 175, Point 7 of Part 1 and Part 2, where it is stated that when holding a judge liable for disciplinary responsibility, the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council regarding the termination of his powers on the basis of a significant disciplinary violation may be adopted by the votes of half of the total number of members of the Supreme Judicial Council, i.e., five votes in favor.