The Ministry of Justice drafted a legislation on criminalizing actions or calls of abandoning sovereignty.
Under the current criminal code, the overthrow of constitutional order, including the factual suspension of article 1 of the constitution and calls of violence for doing so constitute crimes. However, it does not criminalize public calls or actions on forced abandoning of sovereignty, Justice Minister Grigor Minasyan explained at the Cabinet meeting where the bill was discussed before being sent to parliament for approval. “Whereas sovereignty is the main characteristic of a state as an entity,” Minasyan said, adding that the bill envisages criminal-legal means of protecting the sovereignty of the state. He highlighted the fact that in the practice of the European Court of Human Rights in context of national security protection the restriction of freedom of speech has been addressed and found to be legitimate.
The bill envisages up to 15 years imprisonment for actions aimed at abandoning sovereignty, and fines or up to 3 years imprisonment for public calls on abandoning sovereignty.
