Art. 17 of the 1995 Armenian Constitution retains the...

Art. 17 of the 1995 Armenian Constitution retains the death penalty: "Everyone has the right to life. The death penalty, until its complete abolition as an exceptional measure of punishment, can be stipulated by law solely for the most serious crimes." There are 31 capital offenses. The death penalty is not imposed on either women or minors. The President of the Republic has the power to grant pardon.
In January 2001, Armenia was officially admitted to the Council of Europe also if it did not abolishedthe death penalty as request.
The new Criminal Code that will probably be adopted soon, replaces the death penalty with life imprisonment, in accordance with the Council of Europe's conditions.
A new judicial system consisting of the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court has been introduced in Armenia since January 1, 1999. Since that date the Court of Appeal had considered 365 cases. Only one person was sentenced to death: Anoushavan Kazarian, born in 1971, for brutally murdering his uncle and his wife for mercenary purposes.