The study of the materials of criminal proceedings initiated in cases of overt treason, recorded during and after the 44-day Artsakh war, indicates that manifestations of treason, which is the gravest crime against the security of the state, the use of modern technologies and methods by the special services of the enemy state for recruiting and the involvement of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia in intelligence networks, especially against the background of the existing security challenges in the region, it is necessary to make it a priority to strengthen the criminal-legal fight against this crime, to toughen the punitive policy. Such extreme manifestations of high treason are recorded, in which the pressing problems of social justice and security necessitate the application of the most severe punishment, up to the death penalty, to persons who have committed similar acts.
Taking into account the importance of the problem, the Prosecutor's Office studied the scope of the RA's international obligations in this area and found that the RA does not have a direct international legal obligation to establish an absolute ban on the death penalty.
The main prohibition on the imposition of the death penalty and the actual application of punishment in the RA is provided for by Article 24 of the RA Constitution, according to part 3 of which no one can be sentenced or subjected to the death penalty. The mentioned constitutional norm is of an imperative nature, that is, this prohibition can be overcome only by introducing an appropriate amendment to the RA Constitution. At the same time, Article 76 of the RA Constitution stipulates that during a state of emergency or martial law, it is possible to deviate from human rights obligations within the framework of accepted international obligations.
Taking into account these realities and the level of security threats arising from manifestations of treason, the RA Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan sent a letter to the Chairman of the RA Council for Constitutional Reforms, RA Minister of Justice Karen Andreasyan.
Artur Davtyan proposed to discuss within the framework of the constitutional amendments the issue of determining the constitutional and legal norms that allow the use of the death penalty as a form of punishment for treason - the gravest crime against the security of the state and the foundations of the life of the state.
