Vladimir Vardanyan, a former MP and member of the ruling Civil Contract party, was elected president of Armenia’s Constitutional Court on Friday, months after joining the court as a judge. All of the court’s judges have been appointed during Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s rule.
Vardanyan’s controversial appointments, first as a Constitutional Court judge and now as its president, add to broader concerns about the independence of Armenia’s judiciary.
Vardanyan and Constitutional Court Vice-President Edgar Shatiryan were the only candidates for the position.
Friday’s vote marked the second round of the election. The two candidates had previously faced off on 14 October, but neither secured the required number of votes in either round of the secret ballot.
Following the results of the vote, Shatiryan announced his resignation for the post of Vice-President of Armenia’s highest court, considering ‘it impossible to continue serving in the position’, but added that he will continue to serve as a judge in the same court.
Under the constitution, the Constitutional Court elects its president from among its judges for a six-year term. The previous president, Arman Dilanyan, completed his term on 12 October but will continue to serve as a judge of the court.
The election has prompted criticism over Vardanyan’s previous political affiliation and concerns about the court’s independence.
‘So how can we now turn to the Constitutional Court with any conviction or confidence?’, Artur Sakunts of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office wrote on Facebook.
Levon Barseghyan, chair of the board of the Journalists’ Club Asparez, described the election as ‘yet another disgrace’.
Vardanyan was elected as a Constitutional Court judge in a secret parliamentary vote in March 2026. Some media outlets had previously speculated that the authorities were also considering him for the court’s presidency.
Vardanyan had held various positions at the Constitutional Court since 2003, most recently serving as its head of staff from April 2018. In 2019, he was elected to parliament, initially representing the ruling My Step alliance before joining Civil Contract in 2021.
From 2019, Vardanyan chaired parliament’s Committee on State and Legal Affairs. Ahead of his appointment to the Constitutional Court, he terminated his membership in Civil Contract.
His appointment as a judge then drew criticism from civil society organisations over his previous affiliation with the ruling party.
Ahead of the March vote, 14 organisations issued a joint statement calling on parliament ‘to refrain from electing’ Vardanyan.
They argued that Armenia’s legislation and constitution prohibit Constitutional Court judges from being affiliated with political parties or engaging in political activity, and further underscored that Vardanyan’s decision to terminate his party membership was insufficient, pointing to his active involvement in politics for more than seven years.
They also drew parallels with the appointment of Hrayr Tovmasyan, a former member of the then-ruling Republican Party, who was elected to the Constitutional Court in 2018, during former President Serzh Sargsyan’s tenure.
The same political affiliation was criticised at the time by then-opposition MP Pashinyan.
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