Former Constitutional Court judge Hrayr Tovmasyan has filed an application against Armenia with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), his lawyer Aram Orbelyan said, according to Factor.am .

Tovmasyan's conviction became final in February 2026, after which his status as a Constitutional Court judge was terminated. Under the applicable rules, he had four months from the date the judgment entered into legal force to apply to the ECHR, and he exercised that right.

In September 2024, Tovmasyan was found guilty of abusing his official powers while serving as Armenia's justice minister. He has consistently denied the charges, repeatedly arguing that the criminal proceedings against him were politically motivated.

According to the prosecution, in 2012–2013, Tovmasyan used his official position and acted against the interests of the public service to obtain ownership rights to notary office premises located at 1 Baghramyan Avenue. Investigators allege that he acted together with Norayr Panosyan, with whom he had a godfather-godson relationship, and used his supervisory authority over notaries to further the scheme.

The indictment states that he interfered with notaries' professional activities and threatened them with dismissal to prevent them from pursuing legal action to secure the right to use the notary premises free of charge.

According to the case materials, Tovmasyan allegedly registered the property in another person's name to conceal his actual possession, control and use of the premises. Prosecutors further allege that, in October 2013, he exploited the dependent position of two notaries to arrange a lease agreement for the property on terms that were clearly unfavorable to them.

The trial in the court of first instance lasted several years. Throughout the proceedings, Tovmasyan maintained that the case contained no evidence or witness testimony linking him to the notary premises.

He also argued that the criminal case was initiated to remove him from the position of Chairman of the Constitutional Court, claiming he had repeatedly been urged to resign before the criminal prosecution was launched.

After the conviction entered into legal force, Tovmasyan also lost his status as a Constitutional Court judge. Under Armenia's Law on the Constitutional Court, a judge's powers terminate when a conviction becomes final or when criminal proceedings are terminated on non-rehabilitating grounds.