Working Format of The Constitutional Court of Armenia-2018

CHAPTER 1 | ADOPTION OF THE WORKING FORMAT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT, INTRODUCTION OF AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS THERETO

1.   According to Part 8 of Article 62 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, the Working Format of the Constitutional Court (hereinafter referred to as the Working Format) is adopted, and the amendments and supplements thereto shall be adopted by the procedural decision of the Constitutional Court rendered by at least two thirds of votes of the total number of judges of the Constitutional Court.
2.   Any judge of the Constitutional Court is in the position to propose amendments or supplements to the Working Format.

3.   The proposition specified in Clause 2 of this Working Format shall be passed to all judges of the Constitutional Court, who submit their opinions to the proponent not later than/the latest 20 days after receiving the proposition.
4.   In Clause 2 of this Working Format the proponent, within 10 days, having summed up the opinions specified in Clause 3 of this Working Format, submits the draft of procedural decision of the Constitutional Court on making amendments or supplements of the Working Format to the President of the Constitutional Court for the consideration.

5.   After receiving the draft specified in Clause 4 of this Working Format, the President of the Constitutional Court shall convene a procedural session within three days to discuss the proposition on amendments or supplements of the Working Format of the Constitutional Court and adoption of a decision.

 

CHAPTER 2 | PROCEDURE FOR ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

6.   Election of the President and the Deputy President of the Constitutional Court shall be held at a procedural session of the Constitutional Court convened for this purpose.
7.   According to Part 4 of Article 19 and Part 2 of Article 20 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, elections of the President or the Deputy President of the Constitutional Court shall be held within ten days following the opening of the position of the President or the Deputy President of the Constitutional Court.
8.   Nomination and self-nomination of candidates for the position of the President and the Deputy President of the Constitutional Court shall be conducted orally.
9.   Candidates for the position of President and the Deputy President of the Constitutional Court may recuse themselves.
10.  Nomination, self-nomination and recusal of candidates shall be recorded.
11. Election of the President or the Deputy President of the Constitutional Court shall be held by secret ballot at a procedural session of the Constitutional Court, which is entitled if the number of judges of the Constitutional Court required for the election of the President or the Deputy President of the Constitutional Court are present at the session pursuant to the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court.
12.  The sample of the ballots is established by Annex 1 to this Working Format.
13. Ballots shall be drafted and printed / issued by the Staff of the Constitutional Court (hereinafter referred to as the Staff).
14. Ballots shall be prepared in an amount equal to the number of judges attending the session.
15. During the election of the President or the Deputy President of the Constitutional Court, the judge of the Constitutional Court shall make a V-shaped mark in the box opposite the name of the candidate whom s/he is voting for. If there is only one candidate, the judge of the Constitutional Court, when voting for this candidate, make a V-shaped mark opposite the word “for”, and when voting against this candidate make a mark opposite the word “against”.
16. Voting shall be organized by the President of the Constitutional Court, who sums up the voting results in the presence of the judges attending the session, and in case of the election of the President of the Constitutional Court is held, then the judge replacing him/her.
17. If, during the election of the President of the Constitutional Court or his/her deputy, the nominated candidate or one of the nominated candidates does not receive the most votes deemed to have been elected, then in accordance with Part 2 of Article 19 and Part 4 of Article 20 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court”, a second round is held within five days between the two candidates who have received the most votes in the first round.
18. If, due to the equality of votes, more than two candidates received the most votes, then voting is cast on between all candidates who received the highest number of votes till the two candidates who received the highest number of votes for election in the second round.
19.  According to Part 2 of Article 19 and Part 4 of Article 20 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court”, the candidate who receives the majority of votes from the total number of votes of the judges of the Constitutional Court is considered elected according to the results of the second round of elections.
20. If the President of the Constitutional Court is not elected, then new elections are held after voting in the second round – not earlier than 10 days and not later than 30 days. If the Deputy President of the Constitutional Court is not elected, then new elections are held after voting in the second round – not earlier than 10 days and not later than 90 days.
21.  If the Deputy President of the Constitutional Court is not elected, then new elections are held after voting in the second round – not earlier than 10 days and not later than 90 days.
22. The results of voting shall be recorded.
23. The date of the new elections shall be determined and notified by the President of the Constitutional Court at least 10 days before the elections, in case of his/her absence – by the Deputy President of the Constitutional Court or an acting judge-in-charge of the Constitutional Court temporarily performating his/her powers.

CHAPTER 3 | PROCEDURE FOR THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF THE APPLICATION 

24. In case of absence of the grounds prescribed by Parts 3 and 4 of Article 26 of this Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, preliminary examination of the application shall be conducted by one of the judges of the Constitutional Court assigned by the President of the Constitutional Court.
25. For the purpose of preliminary study of applications, the President of the Constitutional Court distributes it among the judges of the Constitutional Court, taking into account the principle of equal workload of judges.
26. The judge of the Constitutional Court conducting the preliminary examination of the application, if necessary, receives consultation from the competent division of the Staff on the grounds for accepting the application for consideration, which is provided, as a rule, no later than 3 days before the expiration of the period established for the preliminary examination of the application.
27. After the registration of the application the preliminary examination of the application shall be completed no later than:

1) within a period of 30 days for the applications in the cases prescribed by Parts 1 and 2 of Article 68, as well as Part 1 of Article 70 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court;

2) within a period of 20 days for the applications in the cases prescribed by Part 1 of Article 69, Parts 1 and 2 of Articles 71 and 72, Part 1 of Article 73, as well as Part 1 of Article 75 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court;

3) within a period of 15 days for the applications in the cases prescribed by Parts 1 of Articles 74, 80 and 85 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court;

4) within a period of 10 days for the applications in the cases prescribed by Parts 1 of Articles 76 and 82 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court;

5) within a period of 7 days for the applications in the cases prescribed by Parts 1 of Articles 79 and 83 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court;

6) within a period of 2 days on issues prescribed by Parts 1 of Articles 77 and 78 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, as well as in accordance with Article 86, on issues prescribed by Part 2 of Article 139 of the Constitution;

7) within a period of 1 day on issues prescribed by Part 1 of Article 81 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, as well as in accordance with Article 86, on issues prescribed by Article 150 of the Constitution;

8) within a period of 24 hours for the applications in the cases prescribed by Part 1 of Article 84 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court.
28. A procedural decision of the Constitutional Court may establish other terms for the preliminary examination of the application.
29. In order to extend the terms of the preliminary examination of the application before the expiration of the established period, the judge of the Constitutional Court conducting the preliminary examination of the application shall file a motion to the President of the Constitutional Court to extend the period for the preliminary examination of the application. When deciding to extend the time period for the preliminary examination of the application, the President of the Constitutional Court shall take into account the time period provided for by the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court” for the consideration of the case.
(edited by the Decision PDCC-47 of 28 February 2020)
30. The judge of the Constitutional Court conducting the preliminary examination of the application, based on the results of the preliminary examination of the application, prepares a report on compliance with the requirements for accepting the case for examination prescribed by the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court.
31. After receiving the report on the issue of compliance with the requirements for accepting the case for examination, the President of the Constitutional Court, within a reasonable time, shall convene a procedural session of the Constitutional Court for deciding the issue of accepting the case for examination.
(edited by the Decision PDCC-47 of 28 February 2020)

31.1. (repealed by the Decision PDCC-47 of 28 February 2020)

 

CHAPTER 4 | PROCEDURE FOR COMPILING A COURT CASE

32. In the course of preparing the case for trial, the competent division of the Staff shall compile a proceeding, which includes:

1) the application submitted to the Constitutional Court and the materials attached thereto;

2) additional materials received at the request of the rapporteur and the copy of the request;

3) requirements of the Constitutional Court and the responses thereto;

4) the procedural decision of the Constitutional Court on the range of issues requiring an expert opinion and the relevant opinion;

5) procedural decisions and protocols adopted during the preliminary examination of the application and preparation of the case for examination;

6) decision of the panel of judges in the certain case;

7) minutes and a summary record of the session of the Constitutional Court;

8) other materials related to the case.

 

CHAPTER 5 | NOTIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT SESSION

33. Participants in the proceeding and attendees shall be notified of the date and time of the session of the Constitutional Court by a note by the Chief of Staff.
34. Participants in the trial and attendees may, with their written consent, be notified of the date and time of the session of the Constitutional Court by other means of notification, in particular by fax, e-mail, by means of an electronic message, by telegram.
35. Legal entities shall be notified in accordance with the procedure prescribed by Article 10 of the Law on public and individual notification via the Internet.
36. A notice of the date and time of the session of the Constitutional Court shall be sent to the participants in the trial and attendees within 5 days from the date of entry into force of the procedural decision on the date and time of the session.
37. In the cases prescribed by Parts 1 of Articles 81 and 86 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, a notice of the date and time of the session of the Constitutional Court shall be sent to the participants in the trial and attendees within 24 hours from the date of entry into force of the procedural decision on the date and time of the session of the Constitutional Court.
38. In the cases prescribed by Part 1 of Article 81 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, a notice of the date and time of the session of the Constitutional Court shall be sent to the participants in the trial and attendees within 12 hours from the date of entry into force of the procedural decision on the date and time of the session of the Constitutional Court.

 

 

39. Cases shall be distributed among the judges (rapporteurs) of the Constitutional Court evenly taking into account the workload/caseload of judges.
40. The rapporteur shall be entitled to send a letter/circular with questions to the parties in accordance with the procedure established by law, and set limits for responding to those questions.
41. In the cases prescribed by the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, the Constitutional Court may Format a working group to clarify specific circumstances of the case.
42. The working group shall submit its positions on certain circumstances of the case and the materials acquired to the judges of the Constitutional Court in written Format within the period prescribed by the procedural decision of the Constitutional Court.
43. At the beginning of the session of the Constitutional Court, at the appointed time, the secretary of the court announces: “All Rise.”, those present at the invitation of the presiding judge at the session take their places.

 44. Participants in judicial proceedings and attendees address the Court as “High Court”, the presiding judge as “Distinguished Presiding Judge”, the judge of the Constitutional Court  as “Honorable Judge of the Constitutional Court”.
45. Prior to the opening of the session, the secretary of the court notifies the Constitutional Court of the presence at the session of the participants in the trial and attendees, as well as of the persons who did not appear at the session of the Constitutional Court, and also provides information on the reasons for their absence.
46. According to Part 6 of Article 49 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, the trial of the case starts with the report of the rapporteur, which, in particular, includes a brief description of the case, as well as information on the availability of the necessary documents in the case.
47.   The rapporteur shall send a draft decision on the merits or an opinion of the Constitutional Court on a certain case to the President of the Constitutional Court and other judges of the Constitutional Court from the moment the case is assigned to the rapporteur and within the period prescribed by sub-clauses 1-7 of this clause if, by a procedural decision of the Constitutional Court or at the request of the rapporteur, no other period has been established by the President of the Constitutional Court within the period prescribed by the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court for the examination of a certain case:

1) in cases prescribed by Articles 68 and 70 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court – no later than in 90 days;

2) in cases prescribed by Articles 69, 71, 75, 80 and 85 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court – no later than in 30 days;

3) in cases prescribed by Articles 76 and 82 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court – no later than in 20 days;

4) in cases prescribed by Articles 79 and 83 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court – no later than in 10 days;

5) in cases prescribed by Article 77 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court – no later than in 7 days;

6) in cases prescribed by Articles 78, 81 and 86 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court – no later than in 3 days;

7) in cases prescribed by Article 84 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court – no later than in 24 hours.
(supplemented by the Decision PDCC-47 of 28 February 2020)
48. Prior to the submission of a draft decision on the merits or an opinion of the Constitutional Court, the rapporteur is entitled to submit to the President of the Constitutional Court his/her initial position on the issue, after which the President of the Constitutional Court is entitled to convene, if necessary, a procedural session in order to clarify the initial position of other judges of the Constitutional Court.
49. If the position of the majority of the judges of the Constitutional Court differs significantly from the position of the rapporteur, who declares his/her intention to present a dissenting opinion, the rapporteur may be replaced by a judge of the Constitutional Court representing the position of the majority. In this case, a procedural decision of the Constitutional Court establishes the period for submitting a new draft decision on the merits or an opinion.
50. Where the situation referred to in Clause 49 of this Working Format arises during the closed-door court deliberation, a procedural decision on replacement of the rapporteur may be adopted during this closed-door court deliberation, which shall be interrupted for a period necessary for the formulation of a new draft on the merits or the opinion, as prescribed by a procedural decision specified in this Clause.
51.   The sequence and duration of the explanations to be submitted by the parties to the trial may be established by a procedural decision of the Constitutional Court.
52. If an expert is invited – after being warned by the presiding judge about the legal liability provided for knowingly delivering false opinion – through the secretary of the court, he shall sign a statement with the following content: “I, (name, surname, place of work, academic degree (if any), undertake to provide an impartial opinion in my conviction and in accordance with my professional knowledge. I have been warned by the presiding judge that, in accordance with Part 3 of Article 53 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, knowingly providing false opinion shall entail liability prescribed by law”.
53. The statement signed by the exper and supported by his/her opinion, shall be attached to the court case.
54. Where necessary, the Constitutional Court may additionally invite the expert, who provided the opinion, to the court session.
55. If a witness is invited to a session of the Constitutional Court, the presiding judge shall, through the court secretary, establish the identity of the witness, i.e. name, surname, date and place of birth, place of residence and place of work.
56. Prior to giving testimony, the witness, after being warned by the presiding judge about the liability provided for by law for giving deliberately false testimony and refusing to give testimony – through the secretary of the court, shall sign a statement with the following content: “I, (name, surname), undertake to disclose the Constitutional Court of every fact known to me subject to clarification in the case under consideration. I have been warned by the presiding judge that, in accordance with Part 3 of Article 55 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, giving deliberately false testimony or refusing to give testimony entail liability prescribed by law”.
57. The statement signed by the witness shall be attached to the case.
58. A procedural decision on the adjournment in the course of a session of the Constitutional Court may be issued at the proposition of one of the judges of the Constitutional Court, as well as upon the motion of a party to the trial (his representative). A proposal or motion for the adjournment shall be discussed without delay.
59. At the end of the session of the Constitutional Court, the parties have the right to present closing arguments.
60. The sequence and duration for presenting closing arguments shall be established by a procedural decision of the Constitutional Court. Taking into account the opinion of the parties or the judges of the Constitutional Court, the Constitutional Court is empowered to limit the duration for presenting arguments.
61. During the presentation of closing arguments, the parties are not authorized to refer to circumstances not examined during the trial.
62.       In case of a dissenting opinion, the presiding judge informats about it during the announcement of the decision or opinion.

 

CHAPTER 7 | SPECIFIC RULES ON THE TRIAL OF CASES THROUGH WRITTEN PROCEDURE

63. Where the trial of cases is conducted through the written procedure, the parties shall submit their explanations, motions, proposals and objections to the Constitutional Court in writing within 30 days after their notification of the date and time of the session of the Constitutional Court unless another term is specified by the procedural decision of the Constitutional Court.
64. Prior to the examination of the case through the written procedure, the additional materials on the case acquired by the Constitutional Court, subsequent to their arrival, shall be provided through the Staff to the judges of the Constitutional Court and to the parties.
65. The examination of the case according to the written procedure begins with the verification of the legality of the session by the presiding judge. If the session is legally qualified, the Constitutional Court immediately proceeds to a closed session.
66. At any stage of the examination of the case  through the written procedure, the Constitutional Court may issue a procedural decision to proceed the hearing in the oral procedure, if there are grounds specified in the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, except for the cases prescribed by Articles 71 and 86 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court.
67. The judges of the Constitutional Court and the parties to the proceedings have the right to submit a motion to the Constitutional Court for proceeding the examination of the case through the oral procedure.
68. Prior to the commencement of the trial, the decision to proceed the examination through the oral procedure shall be issued at a procedural session of the Constitutional Court, and the parties and the invited shall be notified of the decision in due procedure.
69. The parties should be notified of proceeding to the examination through oral procedure at least 5 days prior to the session of the Constitutional Court, and in urgent cases – without delay.
70. The parties to the trial shall be notified of the place and time of the announcement of the decision of the Constitutional Court by the Staff.
71. The remainder of the rules prescribed in Chapter 6 of this Working Format with regard to written proceedings shall apply mutatis mutandis.

 

CHAPTER 8 | PROCEDURE FOR ACCEPTANCE, PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF INDIVIDUAL APPLICATIONS IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT, PROCEDURE AND THE FEATURES  FOR THE FormatATION AND ACTIVITY OF PANELS OF JUDGES

72. Individual applications submitted to the Constitutional Court shall be logged in the register of individual applications by the authorized subdivision of the Staff.
73. The procedure for maintaining the register shall be established by the Chief of the Staff.

74. Individual applications submitted in electronic Format shall be logged in the electronic register of individual applications of the authorized division of the Staff.

75. Registered individual applications shall be submitted to the Chief of the Staff not later than 24 hours from the moment of registration.

76. The authorized subdivision of the Staff shall, at least 1 day before the expiration of the three-day period prescribed by Part 3 of Article 26 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, submit a note of compliance of the individual application with the requirements of Articles 24 and 25 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court to the Chief of the Staff.

77. The Chief of the Staff shall, not later than 1 day after receiving the note, resolve the issue of notifying the applicant about the compliance of the individual application with the requirements of Articles 24 and 25 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court.

78. Upon assignment of the Chief of the Staff, the authorized subdivision of the Staff shall, within three days prescribed by Part 3 of Article 26 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, informat the applicant of the requirement to bring the application in line with the requirements of Articles 24 and 25 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, mentioning the requirements of Articles 24 and 25 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, which the applicant must ensure.

79.   The issue of bringing an individual application in line with the requirements of Articles 24 and 25 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court shall be ensured/provided by the applicant after notification and within the period prescribed by Part 4 of Article 26 of the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court.

80. In case of elimination of the mistakes made in the application and its repeated submission within the established time limit, the application shall be considered accepted on the day of initial submission.

81. An individual application submitted in violation of the time limit established by Part 4 of Article 26 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court” shall be returned to the applicant by the authorized division of the Staff by attaching it to the letter of the Chief of the Staff.

82. An appeal resubmitted in compliance with the term established by Part 4 of Article 26 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court” is logged in the register of individual applications of the authorized division of the Office.

83.  The applicant is notified of the need to bring the individual appeal in line with the requirements of Articles 24 and 25 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court” or to return it by electronic (phone number, e-mail address) or postal service.
84.  The applicant is considered to have been notified of the need to bring the individual application in line with the requirements of Articles 24 and 25 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court” or on its return from the moment of his/her notification by means of the appropriate e-mail or postal service.
85. The preliminary examination of an individual application, in the case of absence of the ncessity to bring the individual appeal in line with the requirements of Articles 24 and 25 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court” or proceeding the sent individual application in line with the requirements of Articles 24 and 25 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court” or the adoption of the decision by the judicial composition as a result of the application against the returned individual application to accept the application, shall be carried out by the judicial composition formated in the manner prescribed by this Chapter.

86. The panel of judges, formated in accordance with the procedure established by this Chapter, also considers complaints filed in accordance with the procedure established by part 6 of Article 26 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court”.

87. (repealed by the Decision PDCC-47 of 28 February 2020)

88. The panels of judges upon the individual applications shall be formated by drawing lots.

89. For resolving the issue of formating the panel of judges for drawing lots, the President of the Constitutional Court shall convene a procedural session.

90. For organizing the drawing of lots, sheets of paper similar/indistinguishable to each other are prepared in accordance with the number of judges of the Constitutional Court, with the exception of the President of the Constitutional Court. On the sheets, the numbers are marked in ascending order, one number less than the number of the current judges, starting with the number “1”.

91.   The sheets are folded four times so that they do not differ from each other, and dropped into a box for a draw. The sheets are folded four times so that they do not differ from each other, and dropped into the box for drawing lots.

92. All judges, except for the President of the Constitutional Court, participate in drawing lots.

93. As a result of drawing lots, a panel of judges is formated, which includes those three judges who, during drawing lots, receive sheets containing the numbers “1”, “2” and “3”, respectively. Moreover, the judge of the first panel of judges who received the number “1” remains in office for 1 month, the number “2” – two months, the number “3” – three months.

94.  On the basis of drawing lots, the panel of judges is replenished one by one/alternatively – in accordance with the sequence of the numbers indicated on the sheets drawn by them during drawing lots.

95.  The judge who received the sheet with number “1” presides first over the judicial panel during the drawing of lots, thereafter the judges  – in the order of number  increase indicated on the sheets drawn during the drawing of lots.

96.   In the absence of the presiding judge in the panel of judges, the latter shall be replaced by the most senior judge of the panel of judges.

97. The President of the Constitutional Court shall establish a schedule for changing the panel of judges and the presiding judge thereof.

98. Prior to the sitting of the panel of judges, the competent subdivision of the Staff shall submit its opinion to the panel of judges on the issue of accepting the application for examination.

99.    The session of the panel of judges is entitled if all three judges participate in the session. In the absence of a quorum, the presiding judge – and in his/her absence, the substitute judge – shall immediately informat the President of the Constitutional Court, who either recalls the relevant judge from vacation (if the absence is related to being on vacation), or after being informated, shall appoint a substitute/interim judge from among the judges not included in the panel of judges.

100.  Sessions of the panel of judges are convened as necessary by the presiding judge of the panel of judges, who shall notify the judges of the panel of judges at least two days in advance.

101. The judge presiding at the panel of judges shall prepare, convene and preside over the sessions of the panel of judges, present to the issues to be examined in the session of the panel of judges, and immediately informat the President of the Constitutional Court about the absence from the session of one of the judges included in the panel of judges for the purpose of resolving the issue of replacing the latter.

102. If necessary, the judge presiding at the sessions of the panel of judges may invite the applicant (his/her representative), and the employees of the Staff.

103. If the judge presiding at the panel of judges believes that there is no need for a preliminary examination of a specific individual application at the session of the panel of judges, then a voting in writing shall be organized regarding this individual application, if none of the judges of the panel of judges objects to the voting in writing.

104.  Voting in writing  shall be conducted through general electronic document flow.

105.  For conducting a voting in writing, the presiding judge shall submit a draft decision to the judges.

106. The participation of the panel judges in the voting in writing is mandatory.

107.  Judges of the panel shall submit their positions regarding the voting in writing within the period specified by the presiding judge. If the judge fails to submit his/her position within the specified period, it is considered that he/she has voted “for”.

108.  The presiding judge shall summarize the results of the voting and submit the adopted decision to the Chief of the Staff for notifying the applicant of the decision made.

109. The decision on the acceptance for examination of an individual application or on the rejection to examine the application shall be taken unanimously by the panel of judges on behalf of the Constitutional Court.

110. The panel of judges makes one of the following decisions:

1) on the acceptance for examination of the case upon an individual application;

2) on the rejection to examine the case upon an individual application;

3) on the partial acceptance or rejection to examine an individual application.

111.  Decisions adopted by the panel of judges shall be signed by all judges.

112.  If there is no unanimity in the judicial composition on the issue of accepting the case for consideration by an individual application or refusal to consider it, the presiding judge shall submit the voting results to the President of the Constitutional Court, who, within a reasonable time after the presentation of the voting results, convenes a procedural session of the Constitutional Court for reconsideration and a decision of  the issue on accepting for consideration a case on an individual
appeal or refusing to consider it.
(amended by the Decision PDCC-47 of 28 February 2020)

113.  In case of repeated application of the applicant to the Constitutional Court on the issue on which the panel of judges or the Constitutional Court decided to refuse to examine the case upon an individual application, if the grounds for rejecting to examine the case prescribed by the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court are not canceled by a letter from the Chief of the Staff, a copy of the decision, respectively, by the panel of judges or the Constitutional Court on the same issue is  re-sent to the applicant.

 

CHAPTER 9 | PROCEDURE FOR ADOPTING PROCEDURAL DECISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

114.  Procedural decisions of the Constitutional Court shall be adopted both in procedural sessions of the Constitutional Court and in sessions of the Constitutional Court – at the stage of the legal proceeding.

115. Any of the judges of the Constitutional Court may make a proposal to adopt a procedural decision of the Constitutional Court.

116. Within a reasonable time period after the submission of the proposal, the President of the Constitutional Court shall convene a procedural session.

117.  The judges of the Constitutional Court and other persons participating in the session are notified of the date and time of the procedural session of the Constitutional Court by the Office in paper or electronic form, as a rule, 3 days before the procedural session.

118. The Chief of the Staff, as well as the heads of structural divisions of the Administration invited to this meeting, may participate in the procedural meeting.

119. Other employees of the Staff and invited persons may also participate in the procedural session with the consent of the presiding judge. The latter shall be informed about this by the authorized division of the Staff by means of a notification signed by the Chief of the Staff, at least one day prior to the procedural session.

120. The presiding judge  of the procedural session shall:

1) inform those present about the issue(s) to be discussed;

2) give the floor to make their statements;

3) put questions to the vote;

4) introduce the invited persons to the participants of the session;

5) sign the procedural decisions of the Constitutional Court.

121.  Procedural decisions on the admission of the case for consideration and on the refusal to consider the case shall be attached to the case.

122. During the proceeding, the procedural decisions of the Constitutional Court are made orally, which is indicated in the minutes of the session. The chairperson of the sitting shall immediately put the submitted proposal or motion for adoption of a procedural decision to a vote.

123.  Procedural decisions, with the exception of the cases provided for in this Working Format, are made by an open vote through a roll-call vote of judges. The person presiding over the meeting is the last to vote.

124. The judge of the Constitutional Court shall not have the right to abstain from voting or refuse to vote.

125. In case of equality of votes based on the results of voting, the procedural decision is considered not adopted.

126. Copies of the procedural decisions of the Constitutional Court may be presented to interested persons at their request – in the Format of an extract from the minutes of the session.

127. The Constitutional Court shall decide on the termination of proceedings by a procedural decision.

 

CHAPTER 10 |  PROCEDURE FOR CORRECTING ERRORS/typos, SPELLING AND DIGITAL ERRORS IN PROCEDURAL DECISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

128. The Constitutional Court may, upon the proposal of the judges of the Constitutional Court or upon the application of the participants in the proceeding of a case, correct errors, spelling and digital errors in the decisions and opinions of the Constitutional Court without changing the content and essence of the decision or opinion of the Constitutional Court.

129. A proposal or application for the correction of errors, spelling and digital errors in the decisions and conclusions of the Constitutional Court may be submitted before the execution of the decision of the Constitutional Court or before consideration  of the relevant issue by the competent authority on the basis of the conclusion.

130. The decision to correct errors, spelling and digital errors in decisions and conclusions of the Constitutional Court shall be taken by the Constitutional Court in a procedural session, where only judges of the Constitutional Court participate.

 

CHAPTER 11 | RECORDING OF THE SESSIONS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

131.  The sessions of the Constitutional Court (including procedural sessions) are recorded by means of a special computer audio recording system, which is installed in the session hall of the Constitutional Court and the deliberation room.

132.  The minutes of the session and the closed session of the Constitutional Court shall be conducted by audio and short recording at the same time.

133.  A short record is a documentation of the actions performated.

134.  In the absence or temporary impossibility of operating a special computer audio recording system, the protocol is kept in a recording on paper.

135.   When the operating of a special computer audio recording system is restored, the recording continues from the moment of interruption in the manner prescribed by paragraphs 131-132 of this Working Format.

136. The record and the short record  is conducted by the secretary of the court.

137. Simple hard copy record of the session of the Constitutional Court shall include information on the following:

1) year, month, day and venue of the session;

2) time of opening and closing the session;

3) name and composition of the Constitutional Court, and the name of the secretary of the court;

4) name and regular number of the case;

5) information on the presence of persons participating in the case and other participants of the proceedings;

6) information on the use of video and audio telecommunications by the participants in the proceedings in the court session.

7) information on explaining to the parties and other participants in the proceedings of their procedural rights and obligations;

8) decisions of the Constitutional Court and instructions of the presiding judge;

9) ​​explanations, motions, proposals, objections, statements of the parties and other participants in the proceedings;

10) information about the questions of the judges of the Constitutional Court addressed to the parties and other participants in the proceedings and the answers to them;

11) information on the evidence and their examination;

12) information on the facts of violation of the order in the courtroom and cases of disrespectful conduct demonstrated towards the Constitutional Court and information on the person responsible for the violation, as well as sanctions imposed on the person by the Constitutional Court;

 13)  final part of decisions formatulated in the format of a separate judicial act;

14) information on audio and video recording of the session.

138.  Information prescribed by Sub-clauses 8-12 of Clause 137 of this Working Format shall be properly recorded by the secretary of the court.

139.  Simple hard copy records are taken in writing or on computer at the proceeding.

140. When the protocol is kept by means of a special computer audio recording system, it is simultaneously briefly recorded by a computer.

141.  A short recording on paper, certified by the signature of the secretary of the court session, and a carrier of the audio recording of the minutes shall be attached to the case file.

142.  The only official recording of the session is the recording made by the Constitutional Court.

143.  When taking minutes of a closed meeting on paper, the minutes are kept by the rapporteur or, at the suggestion of the presiding judge, by another judge of the Constitutional Court.

144.  The minutes of a closed meeting, drawn up in the manner prescribed by paragraphs 131-132 of this Working Format, are stored on electronic carrier, which is placed in a special envelope, the envelope is sealed and stamped with the seal of the Constitutional Court, then the presiding officer and the compiler of the minutes put their signatures on the envelope.

145.  The minutes of the closed meeting are placed in an envelope, which is sealed, stamped with the seal of the Constitutional Court, then the presiding judge and the judge of the Constitutional Court who drew up the minutes of the meeting put their signatures on the envelope.

146.  The closed envelope with the minutes of a closed meeting is deposited in the Office.

147.  Closed envelopes are stored separately from the case materials – in accordance with the procedure for keeping secret documents.

 

CHAPTER 12 | FEATURES OF REGISTRATION, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSIDERATION OF CORRESPONDENCE NOT CONSTITUTED AS AN APPLICATION

148. Any correspondence submitted to the Constitutional Court as a written document which is not constituted as an application within the meaning of the Constitution and the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court” is considered as correspondence  (hereinafter – correspondence) .

149. Correspondence submitted to the Constitutional Court shall be registered by the authorized subdivision of the Staff in the correspondence register.

150. The registered correspondence shall be submitted to the Chief of the Staff no later than within 24 hours. The Chief of Staff sends correspondence, in accordance with its intended assignment to the President of the Constitutional Court, judges of the Constitutional Court, to the appropriate divisions of the Staff.

151. Closed envelopes, parcels, letters are handed over to the addresses in a closed Format.

152. If necessary, consideration of correspondence is carried out in the relevant divisions of the Administration. The response prepared as a result of consideration is sent to the addressee in the Format of the letter signed by the President of the Constitutional Court or the  Chief of the Staff.
(amended by the Decision PDCC-47 of 28 February 2020)

153. Letters marked with the indicated stamps are kept by the Chief of the Staff. Correspondence marked “Secret” and “Top secret” shall be handed over by the head of the authorized division of the Staff to the head of the Staff, who registers it in a separate journal and informats the President of the Constitutional Court about it. Correspondence marked with the indicated stamps is kept by the head of the Chief of the Staff.

 

CHAPTER 13 | LEAVE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE JUDGES  OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

154. Judges of the Constitutional Court are granted regular annual paid leave by the President of the Constitutional Court.

155. The President of the Constitutional Court, proceeding from the need to ensure the normal functioning of the Constitutional Court, may fully or partially postpone the regular annual paid leave granted to the judge of the Constitutional Court from the requested period to another period, or recall the judge of the Constitutional Court from the leave.

156. The postponement of granting of the next annual paid leave should not violate the exercise of the right of a judge of the Constitutional Court to annual paid leave during the given calendar year.

157. After the grounds for postponing the granting of the next annual paid leave to the judge of the Constitutional Court or recalling him/her back from the vacation, the President of the Constitutional Court immediately grants leave to the judge of the Constitutional Court within the period chosen by the judge of the Constitutional Court after the grounds for the postponement of the granting of the next annual paid leave to the judge of the Constitutional Court, as provided for in paragraph 155 of these Working Format cease to exist.

 

CHAPTER 14 | REGULATION OF SEPARATE ISSUES IN REGARD TO ENSURING THE NORMAL ACTIVITY OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

158.  In order to ensure the normal functioning of the Constitutional Court, a judge of the Constitutional Court notifies the President of the Constitutional Court of any position or performance of any paid work specified in Parts 3 and 8 of Article 4 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court”.
159. The occupation of a position or performance of any other paid work specified in clause 158 of this Working Format should not interfere with the exercise of the powers of a judge of the Constitutional Court and is not a valid reason for absence from the sessions of the Constitutional Court.
160. The President of the Constitutional Court, prior to submission to the Government of the cost estimate of the Constitutional Court, shall convene a procedural session of the Constitutional Court, at which the Chief of Staff submits the estimate of the costs of the Constitutional Court.
161. At the procedural session, the estimate of the costs of the Constitutional Court is taken into account, taking into account the proposals made by the judges of the Constitutional Court regarding the estimate.

162. The draft estimate/budget proposal is provided to the judges of the Constitutional Court prior to the procedural session.

163. In the event of an oral hearing of the case, the announcement of the convocation of a session of the Constitutional Court shall be posted in the building of the Constitutional Court in a specially designated place, and may also be disseminated by the media.

164. The schedule of sessions of the Constitutional Court is published on the official website of the Constitutional Court.

165. The parties, if there are other materials in the Constitutional Court, in addition to the materials on the case provided to them by the Court, may familiarize themselves with them after a decision is made to accept the case for consideration in the presence of an employee of the authorized subdivision, certifying the fact of familiarization with a signature. They have the right to make extracts from the case materials.

166. The competent subdivision of the Staff, within the period established by the rapporteur, provides him/her with a certificate/note, which should include:

1) analysis of disputed case and applicable legal acts and other related legal acts interrelated with them;

2) the analysis of the provisions of the judicial acts concerning the case made by the Constitutional Court, as well as the analysis of other relevant judicial acts requested by the rapporteur;

3) in human rights cases – the relevant practice of bodies acting on the basis of international treaties ratified by the Republic of Armenia, within the framework indicated by the rapporteur;

4) at the request of the rapporteur – an analysis of the comparable experience of foreign states, including an analysis of the relevant decisions of their constitutional control bodies within the framework specified by the rapporteur;

167. The rapporteur is authorized to convene working discussions with the employees of the eligible subdivision, if necessary, obtain additional information.

168. In cases of determining the conformity of the obligations enshrined in international treaties with the Constitution, in the event of an obvious discrepancy between the Armenian text and the foreign language text of the international treaty, the Constitutional Court shall apply to the competent authorities before the completion of the proceedings.

169. In addition to the judges of the Constitutional Court, the advisers to the President of the Constitutional Court, assistants to the President and judges of the Constitutional Court, heads of the authorized divisions of the Staff working with the decisions and opinions of the Constitutional Court, and their employees, also have the right to familiarize themselves with draft decisions on the merits and conclusions of the Constitutional Court, whose, who in accordance with the procedure for the proceedings in the Constitutional Court, have the right to familiarize themselves with the decisions and conclusions of the Constitutional Court.

170. Draft decisions and opinions of the Constitutional Court, in addition to those specified in paragraph 169 of this Working Format, shall not be provided to other officials or individuals or published.

171.  The judges of the Constitutional Court are authorized to be familiarized with any minutes of the session of the Constitutional Court.

172.  Official information on behalf of the Constitutional Court is provided with the consent of the President of the Constitutional Court or at his/her proposal and with the consent of the relevant judge of the Constitutional Court on his/her behalf or on behalf of the President of the Constitutional Court by the press secretary of the Constitutional Court.

173.  At the end of each calendar year, until February 15 of the next year, the Constitutional Court, by a procedural decision, summarizes and publishes statistical data on the applications registered with the Constitutional Court and the cases considered.

174. The Bulletin of the Constitutional Court is published at least 4 times a year.

175. The reception of citizens in the Constitutional Court is organized by the Staff in the manner established by the Chief of the Staff, which is agreed with the President of the Constitutional Court.

176. The procedure for office work in the Constitutional Court is established by a procedural decision of the Constitutional Court.

177. The President of the Constitutional Court approves the composition of the delegation of the Constitutional Court to be sent on a business trip.

178. The Constitutional Court establishes working relations with the constitutional control bodies of other states in order to conclude agreements on cooperation, exchange delegations, obtain information about decisions taken by the Constitutional Court, exchange experience, and conduct joint scientific and educational events.

178.1. The functions of persons holding administrative and discretionary positions in the Constitutional Court, as well as divisions of the Staff, are established by the President of the Constitutional Court, taking as a basis the general requirements established in the law, this Working Format and the Charter of the Staff.

178.2. For persons holding administrative, discretionary and civil service positions in the Constitutional Court, as well as those working under an employment contract, on the basis of an individual assessment of the results of their activities, the president of the Constitutional Court shall establish a differentiated procedure for monetary incentives.

178.3. Persons holding administrative and discretionary positions in the Constitutional Court may be awarded class ranks in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on Public Service.

179.  The description of the special uniformat of a judge of the Constitutional Court is established by Appendix 2 to this Working Format..

180. The access regime in the Constitutional Court is established by Appendix 3 to these Regulations.

180.1. The President of the Constitutional Court, after consulting with the judges of the Constitutional Court, may award the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, as well as persons who are not citizens of the Republic of Armenia, the medal of the Constitutional Court for their significant contribution to constitutional justice, as well as to the strengthening of a democratic and legal state. Together with the medal of the Constitutional Court, a certificate for the medal is also awarded.

180.2.The description of the medal of the Constitutional Court and the certificate to it is established by Appendix 4 to these Regulations.

 

CHAPTER 15 | PUBLIC SERVICE IN THE OFFICE

181. In accordance with part 1 of Article 21 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court”, the Constitutional Court Formats the Staff independently, in the manner prescribed by law and these Regulations.

182. According to the first and second sentences of Part 1 of Article 87 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court”, professional activity in the Office of the Constitutional Court, with the exception of labor activity related to the functions of technical maintenance, is a civil service. The staff of the respective staff in the Office are civil servants, and the position of assistant judge is a public discretionary position.

183.  According to Part 3 of Article 21 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court”, based on the characteristics of individual positions in the Administration, positions are filled in the manner prescribed by the Laws “On Civil Service” and “On Public Service”.

184. The Chief of Staff, advisers, assistants to the President of the Constitutional Court, the press secretary of the Constitutional Court shall be appointed and dismissed by the President of the Constitutional Court.

185. Heads of structural divisions of the Office are appointed and dismissed by the President of the Constitutional Court, and other civil servants of the Constitutional Court are appointed and dismissed by the Chief of Staff with the consent of the President of the Constitutional Court.

186. Assistant to the judges of the Constitutional Court are appointed and dismissed by the Chief of Staff on the proposal of the respective judge of the Constitutional Court.

187. According to the third sentence of Part 1 of Article 87 of the Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court”, the direct supervisor of the assistant to the judge of the Constitutional Court is the corresponding judge of the Constitutional Court.

188. The Assistant to the Chief of Staff shall be appointed and dismissed by the Chief of Staff.