The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia launched an appeal concerning the issue of rejecting the verdict rendered against V.G. sentenced to life for murder with aggravating circumstances.
By the verdict of 05.08.2009 of the Court of General Jurisdiction Ararat and Vayots Dzor Regions V.G. was pleaded guilty for committing a crime envisaged by Point 7 and Point 15 of Part 2 of Article 104 of the RA Criminal Code and sentenced to life imprisonment.
The court found it justified that on March 27, 2003, V. G. first with another person, and then only with E. M. with the intent of unlawful deprivation of life inflicted blows with legs and hands upon the latter, and as a result of this injuries E. M. died on the spot, and V. G left the crime scene.
The verdict was subsequently appealed several times to the RA Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation, however, for various reasons, including for the reason of missing the procedural time limit for appeal, it was left unchanged.
By the verdict of 26.07.2011 of the Court of General Jurisdiction of Ararat and Vayots Dzor Regions, on the basis of recognition as void the Point 15 of Part 2 of Article 104 of the RA Criminal Code adopted on April 18, 2003, the verdict of 05.08.2009 of Court of General Jurisdiction of Ararat and Vayots Dzor Regions under Point 15 and 7 of Part 2 of Article 104 of the RA Criminal Code with respect to V. G. was brought in accordance with Point 7 of Part 2 of Article 104 of the RA Criminal Code adopted by Law ՀՕ-143-Ն “On Amendments and Supplements to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia” and entered into force on 25.05.2011 and the punishment appointed by the verdict was left unchanged.
During the study of the case, the RA Prosecutor General’s Office found that the court made a judicial mistake - such violations of substantive and procedural law that influenced the outcome of the case, and the judicial act adopted as a result of fundamental violations of procedural law distorted the very essence of justice.
In particular, in connection with the decriminalization of the institution of relapse, re-examining the verdict, the Court of General Jurisdiction of Ararat and Vayots Dzor Regions excluded the aggravating circumstance of relapse from V.G.'s charge, that is, Point 15 of Part 2 of Art. 104 of the RA Criminal Code, after which, without a main reason, brought his action in accordance with Point 7 of Part 2 of Art. 104 of the RA Criminal Code.
Meanwhile, V. G. was not liable to punishment under Point 7 of Part 2 of Art. 104 of the RA Criminal Code, since the latter committed the act incriminated to him on March 27, 2003, that is, when the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia adopted in 1961 was in force. By this code, the commission of a murder by a group of people or an organized group was not an aggravating circumstance for murder. As an aggravating circumstance, it was criminalized by the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, adopted in 2003.
By the decision of 23.10.2018. N ՍԴՈ -1431 of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia, Point 2 of Part 1 of Article 379 of the RA CPC was found to be contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. As a result of this, the people authorized to launch an appeal on the basis of the improvement of the condition of the person are no longer limited by the time limits provided for the launch of an appeal.
