BISHKEK, September 14 (RIA Novosti) - Kyrgyzstan's Constitutional Court invalidated the country's Constitution Friday after ruling that its adoption by the parliament in 2006 was illegitimate.
The court upheld a suit filed by several lawmakers, who contested emergency amendments to the law on parliamentary procedures, which were endorsed in 2006 to indirectly alter the Constitution.
"Parliament should have taken into account that the 2003 Constitution was adopted by a national referendum and can only be amended through a referendum," court chairman Cholpon Bayekova said as she announced the decision.
Consequently, the 2003 Constitution has come into effect again.
Presidential spokesman Bektur Zulpiyev said invalidating the 2006 Constitution would not cancel the laws adopted on its basis if they were not in breach of the 2003 Constitution.
"Accordingly, the legitimacy of the authorities elected is not being questioned," he added.
The Constitution was amended twice in 2006. In November, when an immediate constitutional reform was the main demand of opposition forces during mass rallies in downtown Bishkek, the supreme document was altered to grant parliament broader powers.
But the Constitution was again amended in favor of the president in December under the pressure of pro-presidential forces.
