The relevant lawsuit was submitted by a group of opposition lawmakers who find that the measure taken by Armenian authorities runs counter to the country’s constitution.
Against the background of a low COVID-19 vaccination rate in the country and a spiking number of coronavirus cases and fatalities resulting from the potentially deadly disease, Armenia’s Ministry of Health introduced some administrative measures last month in an attempt to speed up the inoculation campaign.
Since October 1 virtually all public- and private-sector employees refusing vaccination have been obliged to take coronavirus tests twice a month at their own expense.
During the opening of the hearings at the Constitutional Court on Thursday member of the opposition parliamentary Hayastan faction Aram Vardevanian said that the order of the health minister potentially affected 450,000 employees across Armenia, arguing that legal relations between employees and their employers should be regulated by labor laws rather than by a government official’s order.
“I think that issues like that must be solved at a different level, which is called legislation rather than an order,” Vardevanian, who is a professional lawyer, said.
Anna Mkrtumian, a Ministry of Health representative at the trial, objected to that statement, saying that “considering the pandemic and the importance of public health, the Ministry of Health has the right to issue corresponding orders.”
Mkrtumian argued that the order complies with all the norms of Armenia’s constitution and does not violate human rights.
The Constitutional Court adjourned the examination of the opposition’s claim as the hearing resumed on Friday.
Judge Arevik Petrosian submitted a motion to the court, proposing that information be requested from the government regarding the number of cases of noncompliance by workers with the minister’s order since its execution began as well as the number of workers fired over that noncompliance.
The defendant’s representative said that the ministry does not possess such data as it is not a direct supervising body. She asked for at least five working days to provide that information.
The Court satisfied the request, adjourning the hearing until December 16.
The Armenian government says only about 14 percent of the country’s population of 3 million has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to date.
Experts estimate that 70 to 85 percent of the population has to be fully inoculated to reach the herd immunity threshold.
More than 7,400 people have died in Armenia from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in March last year.