Press Release: Venice Commission: The draft Armenian constitution needs drastic changes

The Council of Europe's Commission for Democracy through Law ('Venice Commission') has assessed the draft constitutional amendments, as adopted by the Armenian National Assembly in a first reading on 11 May 2005. The members of the Venice Commission's Working Group on constitutional reform in Armenia expressed their deep dissatisfaction with this text, as most of the Commission's comments have not been taken into consideration, notably those concerning the balance of powers between the President and the Parliament - which implies a stronger role of the National Assembly -, the independence of the judiciary and the election of the Mayor of Yerevan (instead of his/her appointment by the President).