Ombudsman challenges one-year pension limit

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Constitutional Court has accepted for review an application submitted by the Human Rights Defender.

The appeal challenges a provision of Armenian legislation stipulating that if pension payments have been discontinued, unpaid pension amounts are subject to reimbursement only for the one-year period preceding the date of application or the receipt of information serving as grounds for resuming payment or restoring the right to receive a pension, the Defender’s Office reported.

The Ombudsman considers it problematic that, despite a person having the right to receive a pension, compensation of unpaid amounts is limited to only one year, which, in the Defender’s assessment, contradicts the constitutional right to property.

“Any interference by the state with the right to property, including restrictions on the right to receive a pension, must be lawful, foreseeable, proportionate and pursue a legitimate public interest. Deprivation of property, as a more severe interference, may be applied only in exceptional cases and under clearly defined legal conditions,” Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan emphasized.

The established case law of the European Court of Human Rights also confirms that the right to property is one of the fundamental constitutional rights, and its restriction or deprivation is permissible only in accordance with procedures and conditions prescribed by law.

Thus, the Human Rights Defender concluded that although an individual legally acquires the right to a pension and to receive pension payments, the current legislative regulations contradict the Constitution by creating situations in which a person entitled to a pension is deprived of payments for a specific period.

Many citizens have encountered this issue, and numerous individuals have appealed to the Human Rights Defender seeking a solution.