The
Constitutional Court has accepted the application submitted by the Human Rights
Defender of the Republic of Armenia.
The
application challenges the regulation under the RA legislation, under which, in
cases where pension payments have been suspended, unpaid pension amounts are
payable only for the one-year period preceding the month of application or the
receipt of information serving as the basis for resuming pension payments
(restore the right to receive a pension), during which the person was entitled
to a pension.
The
Defender considers it problematic that, given the existence of a person’s right
to receive a pension, the payment of the unpaid pension amount is limited to a
period of only one year, which, according to the Human Rights Defender,
contradicts the right to property guaranteed by the Constitution.
“Any
interference by the state with the right to property, including the restriction
of the right to pension payment, must be lawful, predictable, proportionate a
and aimed at the public interest, and deprivation of property, as a more severe
interference, may be applied only in exceptional cases and under conditions
clearly established by law,” emphasizes the Human Rights Defender Ms. Anahit
Manasyan.
The
well-established case-law of the European Court of Human Rights confirms that
the right to property is one of the fundamental constitutional rights, and any
restriction or deprivation of property is only permissible under a law that
clearly defines the procedure and conditions.
Accordingly,
the Human Rights Defender concluded that although a person legally acquires the
right to a pension and to receive a pension, the regulations of the current
legislation contradict the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, creating
situations when a person has the right to receive a pension, but is deprived of
the pension due to them for a specific period of time.
Many
citizens face this issue and numerous individuals have applied to the Human
Rights Defender to seek a resolution.
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