The Constitutional Court to Examine the Human Rights Defender’s Application Challenging Restrictions on Pension Payment Rights

The Constitutional Court has admitted for examination the application submitted by the Human Rights Defender.

The application challenges a provision set forth in the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, according to which, if the payment of a pension has been suspended, the unpaid pension amount is subject to payment only for the one-year period preceding the month of application or the receipt of information serving as the basis for the resumption of pension payments (restoration of the right to receive a pension), during which the individual had the right to receive a pension.

The Human Rights Defender considers problematic the fact that, despite the existence of an individual’s right to receive a pension, the payment of unpaid pension amounts is limited to only a one-year period. According to the Defender, this restriction contradicts the right to property guaranteed by the Constitution.

“Any interference by the State with the right to property, including restrictions on the right to receive pension payments, must be lawful, foreseeable, proportionate, and aimed at serving the public interest. Deprivation of property, as a more severe form of interference, may be applied only in exceptional cases and under conditions clearly prescribed by law,” emphasized Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan.

The established case-law of the European Court of Human Rights likewise confirms that the right to property constitutes one of the fundamental constitutional rights, and that any restriction or deprivation thereof is permissible solely in accordance with procedures and conditions prescribed by law.

Accordingly, the Human Rights Defender has concluded that although an individual acquires, by law, the right to a pension and to receive pension payments, the current legislative regulations contradict the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia by creating situations in which a person has the right to receive a pension but is deprived of the pension due to them for a specific period.

Numerous citizens have encountered this issue, many of whom have applied to the Human Rights Defender seeking a resolution.