VENICE COMMISSION AND ARMENIAN DELEGATION CAME TO ACCORD OVER ALL ISSUES

PanARMENIAN.Net - "This day was a successful one both for Armenia and the Council of Europe. We worked well with the Armenian delegation and came to accord over all issues," stated Venice Commission Secretary Gianni Buquicchio upon the completion of the session of the working group of the Venice Commission with the Armenian delegation. He remarked that all disputable issues referring to division of powers, independence of the judicial power and election of Yerevan Mayor, the Commission reached a common point with the Armenian delegation. Touching upon the issue of Yerevan, head of the Venice Commission Constitutional Law Department Simona Granata-Menghini said that determination of Yerevan's status is the key issue. "We came to the following arrangement over the issue: the Constitution should assert that Yerevan is a local self-government unit, the Yerevan Mayor should be an elected official and the order of election should be legally established." S. Granata-Menghini emphasized, "Having provided that Yerevan is a community is sufficient, as another article in the Constitution says that community heads are elected officials. There are no problems if the Yerevan Mayor is elected in some other way than heads of other communities. The important thing is for him to be elected."