“Why Have We Dulled Towards the Constitution?”

Interview with Vahram Nercissiantz
Chief Economic

(Publ ished on February 26, 2009)

 (Translated from the Armenian original)

–                Mr. Nercissiantz, you have often criticized the combination of public officials’ functions and entrepreneurs’ activities. What progress has been made in addressing this problem?  

–                First of all, I wish to emphasize that the combination of public officials’ and an entrepreneurs’ functions – in my opinion – is a fundamental problem in Armenia, which corrodes both the democratic foundations of the state and the economic system. This combination contributes to the fact that the loyalty and energies of a public official shifts towards his or her business interests, thereby weakening public governance; and on the other hand, it impedes the competitive framework within the economy and distorts the markets as a result of unequal conditions.  These very concerns led to the adoption of Articles 65, 88 and 98 of the Armenian Constitution, which exclude the possibility for combining the responsibilities of any public official in legislative, executive or judiciary branches of the Government with business activities. The wording of these articles in the 1995 Constitution was rather weak and, thus, it was easily bypassed. In due time, I had drawn the attention of former President Robert Kocharyan to this issue and he initiated a much stiffer rewording of these articles in the 2005 Constitution that was adopted through a national plebiscite. However, infringements of these articles still persist.     

–                Why, then, do these constitutional infringements continue?

–                When I have drawn the attention of the authorities to this issue, it was explained to me that public officials hide their business activities and ownership and often register businesses under relatives’ names, although, in reality, they maintain control of these businesses through veiled administrative levers. Thus, it is impossible to prove these constitutional violations. In brief, there is a fact finding problem. However, the public has often eye-witnessed the statements made by a public official-entrepreneur, recorded and broadcast on television, where he or she speaks about this or that transaction and/or government inspections, which in and of itself is conclusive evidence to prove the aforementioned constitutional violations. It is evident that these statements and facts are also seen by the judiciary bodies of the Republic but, it seems, no follow-up action is being taken. 

–                What specific examples would you mention?

–                For instance, last year, during the presidential election campaign, a well-known parliamentarian-entrepreneur from the opposition repeatedly and openly stated that the authorities impede and persecute his businesses through numerous inspections and this was broadcast both on the public television as well as other television channels. On the other hand, another well-known parliamentarian-entrepreneur made public statements in support of the authorities, saying that his businesses were also being inspected by the authorities and that this was a legitimate review process. This was also broadcast to the public on the public television and other television channels. Such statements – according to all international judicial norms – would be considered as conclusive evidence of a confession about engaging and managing a business; however, no law enforcement body has initiated any proceedings. And such statements, confessions and even boastings are often voiced by public officials-entrepreneurs. Last week, another well-known parliamentarian-entrepreneur openly participated in an auction for a factory organized by the government and purchased it under the special attention of the media. In brief, the media, business community and judicial bodies are all so dulled about the constitution that I was unable to find even a single analytical article in the mainstream press about these constitutional violations for providing some feedback to the authorities. The exception was my article published in the “Aravot” daily newspaper in February 2007, where I was encouraging the establishment of criteria for screening of candidates for the upcoming National Assembly elections in order to prevent the entry of entrepreneurs to the National Assembly. Unfortunately, this was also ignored.   

          As a result, the constitution, i.e., the guarantor of democracy, has been trampled on and ignored. In my opinion, judicial bodies should have instituted legal proceedings for these constitutional violations and a complaint should have been brought before the Constitutional Court in accordance with the procedures contemplated by the Constitution. It is pity that even the opposition has not complained about these violations and has not – by any means – appealed to the Constitutional Court, but instead – as a balancing political force – has merely resorted to ineffective populist accusations and slogans.  Thus, many public officials-entrepreneurs have transformed into oligarchs, who have evaded to meet their appropriate tax obligations by abusing the authority of their public office, distorted the markets through unequal environment, breached competition rules, impeded or restricted the entry of small and medium enterprises into production and, thus, sharply escalated social polarization in the Republic.    

–                Then, how is it possible to enforce or apply these extremely important articles of the constitution?

–                To rectify the situation, it is essential to invite separate consultations with senior officials from the legislative, executive and judicial bodies to review and set timetables for the development, approval and enforcement of procedures for adhering to the aforementioned articles in consultation with relevant non-governmental organizations and constitutional lawyers. I am glad to inform you that this issue is now under close attention of President Serzh Sargsyan. I expect that in the near future appropriate procedures will be developed as commissioned by the President to screen candidates entering into the legislative, executive and judiciary systems, so as to prevent occurrence of such constitutional violations.

Advisor to President of Armenia by “ARAVOT” Daily