STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Professional Committee on Constitutional Reforms under the President of the Republic of Artsakh proposes to change the system of governance in the Republic by transitioning to a semi-presidential system of governance.

The Committee made the proposal in the draft Constitution which was put for public discussion today and is available at the legal information system of the Republic of Artsakh (arlexis.am).

“From the study of the norms enshrined by the Constitution of the Republic of Artsakh it becomes clear that the President of Artsakh during his entire tenure bears personal responsibility for the executive power. The executive power is exercised by one center – the President of the Republic. Being as the guarantor of the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and security of the Republic of Artsakh, the entire executive power is concentrated in his hands. He is the Chief Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the President of the Security Council, he runs the country’s domestic and foreign policy and carries out the general management of the bodies of public administration system.

In the current military-political conditions of the Republic of Artsakh, the over-concentration of power in the hands of one person, the President of the Republic, is quite dangerous and highly risky”, the draft says.

The Committee finds that if the position of the President of the Republic remains vacant, there could be a danger for legal-political crisis.

“Thus, in case when the position of the President of the Republic remains vacant, it is banned to dissolve the National Assembly, schedule a referendum, appoint or dismiss members of the Cabinet, the top commanding staff of the Armed Forces and other troops until the newly-elected President takes office. The Constitution of the Republic of Artsakh, taking into account that the President of the Republic and the National Assembly assume powers simultaneously, envisages the requirement to call for snap elections of the President and the National Assembly if the President’s position remains vacant (resignation, death, suspension of powers of the President or expression of no confidence to him, removal from office). The same mechanism also applies in case of the dissolution of the National Assembly. The study of the legal procedures envisaged by the Constitution of the Republic of Artsakh makes it clear that before holding snap elections and forming a head of executive power and parliament with the results of elections, the public administration system does not operate completely, the executive power becomes “paralyzed” when the position of the President remains vacant and creates a fertile ground for constitutional crises”, the draft adds.

Therefore, taking into account the imperative of ensuring the security of the Republic of Artsakh, the current challenges facing the Republic, as well as ensuring the flexibility of the public administration system in the conditions of martial law or state of emergency, or in emergency situations, the Professional Committee on Constitutional Reforms proposes to transform the system of governance, switching to the semi-presidential system.

In the semi-presidential system the parliament is taking part in the formation of the government, in particular, the composition of the government is defined by law at the proposal of the government.

“We want to state that as a result of transitioning to the semi-presidential system of governance it will be necessary to revise the powers of the President of the Republic, as well as the National Assembly and the government by ensuring the effective activity of all branches of power”, stated in the draft.