July 15, 2003 - 20:49 AMT
ARMENIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT RECOGNIZED PROVISIONS OF 6-TH EUROPEAN RESOLUTION ON DEATH PENALTY REPEAL COMPLYING WITH ORGANIC LAW OF ARMENIA
The Constitutional Court of Armenia recognized the provisions of the 6-th resolution of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, providing for repeal of death penalty, as complying with the Organic Law of the Republic of Armenia. It should be noted that Armenia signed the document in January 2001. As Armenian minister of justice David Harutyunian told journalists today, the repeal of death penalty as extreme penalty issues from Armenia's commitments undertaken when being accepted to the Council of Europe. At the same time he emphasized that the resolution provisions do not admit exceptions or reservations in the issue. Answering journalists' question whether this would not cause public displeasure taking into account the protracted trial on the act of terrorism in the Armenian parliament in October 1999, the minister said that the process of repeal of death penalty cannot be of halved nature. At the same time the minister noted that the parliament has the final word in Armenia's ratification of the 6-th resolution of the European Convention.