Constitutional Court says disputed provisions of pension reform are unconstitutional
The Constitutional Court has announced its decision over the unpopular pension reform saying several provisions of the pension reform run against the country’s basic law. CC Chairman Gagik Harutyunyan read out the court’s decision which came into force after its publication. The decision will be placed on the CC website and be forwarded to all instances. Gagik Harutyunyan’s speech was welcomed by loud applause but the CC Chairman said ‘it was forbidden.’ Under the new pension law, all working citizens in Armenia born after 1973 must pay five to ten percent of their salaries to private pension funds in addition to other social security payments made by their employers. They will be able to use their accumulated funds when they reach retirement age, which is set at 63 for both men and women in Armenia. The mandatory component of the law has triggered outcry in Armenia and many took to the street to protest against the law. The protests were organized by Dem am (I am against) pressure group. The pressure group and the four opposition parties in parliament, including the Armenian National Congress (HAK), the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutuyn), Heritage and Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), appealed to the Constitutional Court to dispute several provisions of the pension law that came into effect in January. They claimed that the mandatory component of the law is unconstitutional.
