Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

HCA Vanadzor touched upon the issue of quarantine and martial law legal regimes and simultaneous application of the restrictions thereof, as well as the prohibition on the freedom of assemblies, referring to the questions below: 

1.Can quarantine and martial law legal regimes be applied simultaneously? 

2.Do the restrictions (particularly, the prohibition on assemblies) arising from quarantine and martial law legal regimes become the same and can they be applied simultaneously? 

HCA Vanadzor concludes that based on the difference between the aims pursued by quarantine and martial law legal regimes and the special significance of each, as well as the lack of prohibition on simultaneous application of quarantine and martial law legal regimes in legislation, the above-mentioned two legal regimes can be applied simultaneously with certain reservations.

HCA Vanadzor mentioned, inter alia, that in case of restricting the freedom of assembly, there is a contradiction in legal acts regulating the legal regimes of quarantine and martial law. According to the RA Government Decision N 1586-Ն, “organizing, conducting and participating in rallies and strikes is prohibited in the whole territory of the Republic of Armenia”. Whereas, according to the RA Government Decision N 1514-Ն, “it is allowed only provided that personal protective equipment is used and a distance of at least 1.5 meters is observed”.

Neither of the above-mentioned legal regulations was made invalid and both act to date. It is obvious that the Government decisions contain contradicting regulations, each of which justifies the implementation of the aim of the regime that it regulates. However, it should also be taken into account that in the conditions of the lack of a legislative regulation on the priority of the above-mentioned special regimes, we have a situation where preference should be given to the regulation contained in the legal act that was adopted earlier according to Article 40, part 1, clause 3 of the RA Law “On Normative Legal Acts”. 

Thus, in the conditions of the acting legislation, not martial law regulations, but regulations stemming from the quarantine regime are applicable regarding the prohibition of assemblies. 

Read the full opinion of HCA Vanadzor HERE (in Armenian)