Based
on the application of the Human Rights Defender, the Constitutional Court has
declared unconstitutional the legal regulations establishing an absolute ban on
appointing individuals with permanent complete deafness or deaf-mutism in both
ears, or binocular blindness, to the position of judge.
The
decision was published on the official website of the Constitutional
Court:
By
its decision of September 16, 2025, the Constitutional Court declared
unconstitutional and invalid the provisions of the Decision of the Government
of the Republic of Armenia that established such an absolute ban.
The
Court stated that these prohibitions violate the constitutional right of every
individual to hold a public service position, contradicting the principle of
proportionality enshrined in the Constitution.
The
Constitutional Court emphasized that in all cases, the adoption of a decision
regarding a candidate with the diseases (conditions) specified in the contested
provisions of the Government Decision requires an individualized approach and a
case-specific assessment, rejecting general exceptions based on disability.
In
this regard, the Constitutional Court stated that accessible and merit-based
public service requires decision-making entities to prioritize the assessment
of a candidate’s educational, professional, and moral qualities, reducing the
reference to health reasons as absolute barriers to public service within the
framework of reasonableness and proportionality.
It
should be recalled, within the framework of the examination of this application,
one of the non-governmental organizations actively working in the field has
submitted an opinion to the Constitutional Court.
In
this regard, Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, Ms. Anahit
Manasyan considers the activities of partner NGOs and cooperation with them to
be of key importance.
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