Minasian: No one must make compulsory payments to fund managers

The decision of Armenia’s Constitutional Court states that violation of citizens’ property right contradicts the Constitution, member of ARF-Dashnaktsutyun Party Artsvik Minasian told reporters today.

We would remind you that the Constitutional Court today declared several provisions of the Law on Accumulative Pensions unconstitutional.

Human rights activist Mary Khachatrian said for her part that citizens should defend their rights and be guided by legal positions of the Constitutional Court (CC).

“Employers should not be allowed to make contributions against employees’ will. Everyone should adopt this decision of CC and apply to court if necessary,” she said.

ARFD faction deputy Artsvik Minasian thanked all those who helped them to act properly in court. He said that although some representatives of the authorities tried to exert pressure on the Constitutional Court, their actions did not have a major impact. Minasian stressed that the Armenian president did not exercise his powers, and neither did he put pressure on the Constitutional Court.

“We have no enemies in this struggle. We want this decision of CC to be perceived as an achievement of the state and statehood, rather than of some people. The CC gave an opportunity to Armenia’s government and the National Assembly to bring the legal norms of the Law on Accumulative Pensions and other laws into line with the Constitution. The extension of the date until September 30 aims to bring norms into line and not to use mandatory norms,” he noted.

According to Minasian, if the government tries to interpret this decision in the narrow sense, they will present more clear-cut requirements to the government and the parliament.

“The legal position of the CC takes effect upon publication. The legal position clearly stipulates that violation of property right contradicts the Constitution and will see to it. I want to make an appeal to employers and all working citizens of the republic. If you don’t want your salaries to go to some fund, you are not obliged to do it. Employers have the right to repay the deducted sums to employees, and non-repayment at the request of citizens may result in fines,” the deputy said.

According to Minasian, the Armenian government and the parliament should be interested in implementing the CC decision. “My colleagues and I should not wait until September 30, but we should start discussions beforehand to rule out an unconstitutional approach in this issue,” he said.

In his words, the government should make respective technical changes in the system of sums’ collection because, under the CC decision, a technical problem cannot be a reason for violating the Constitution.

‘The sums transferred shall be repaid, and the sums kept by employers shall be repaid as well,” Artsvik Minasian said.