STATEMENT: Authorities and Political Interests Are Temporary, While the Mission of the Constitution Is Enduring

The Constitution is the founding agreement between the citizen and the state, and between the people and the authorities. It establishes that the Republic of Armenia is a sovereign, democratic, social, and rule-of-law state; that power belongs to the people; and that the individual, human dignity, and fundamental rights are the highest values.

It is no coincidence that Articles 1, 2, and 3 of the Constitution are not subject to amendment. They constitute the immutable core of our constitutional order.

By its decision yesterday, the Constitutional Court, in substance, undermined their living essence. When substantial evidence presented concerning the legitimacy of the electoral process, equality, the free expression of the people’s will, and citizens’ political rights is disregarded, the very idea of a democratic and rule-of-law state is emptied of meaning, the principle of popular sovereignty is reduced to a formality, and the protection of human dignity and rights becomes a neglected obligation.

Yes, the Constitution in its current form is not perfect. It has serious institutional shortcomings, particularly with regard to the lack of effective checks and balances among the different branches of government. At different times, governments have attempted to use the Constitution to serve their political interests, and this danger remains real today.

But the Constitution cannot be amended at the demand of external forces, on the basis of narrow political calculations by domestic actors, or to serve the interests of individuals seeking to advance their own political power. Constitutional amendments must be the result of an internal national process, broad public discussion, national consensus, and the sovereign will of the Republic of Armenia.

Authorities and political interests are temporary, while the mission of the Constitution is enduring. Today, Constitution Day is not, for us, a day of formal congratulations, but a day of sober reflection, responsibility, and struggle.

We must recognize that the Constitution cannot be merely a document written on paper. It must become a living reality — a genuine guarantee of social solidarity, justice, the rule of law, human dignity, and state sovereignty.

This path is not easy. But it is precisely through this path that we can restore the Constitution to the citizen, the state to the rule of law, and power to its true source — the people.