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Integrity Scorecard

2009 Assessment

Armenia: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Armenia: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Legislative Accountability
Indicators		Score
32	Can members of the legislature be held accountable for their actions?	67
33	Are there regulations governing conflicts of interest by members of the national legislature?	18
34	Can citizens access the asset disclosure records of members of the national legislature?	56
35	Can citizens access legislative processes and documents?	75

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Can members of the legislature be held accountable for their actions?

32a: In law, the judiciary can review laws passed by the legislature.

Score:

YES

Comments: Only the Constitutional Court can rule on a law that was adopted by the parliament as being anti-constitutional.

The rest of the justice system has no such right.

References: [ LINK ]

Article 100, point 1

Peer Review Comments: Article 100

The Constitutional Court shall, in conformity with the procedure defined by law:

1) determine the compliance of the laws, resolutions of the National Assembly..

32b: In practice, when necessary, the judiciary reviews laws passed by the legislature.

Score:

100

Comments: According to the Constitution, the application to the Constitutional Court may be filed by courts on the issue of constitutionality of provisions of normative acts related to specific cases within their proceedings. (Article 101paragraph 7) But in practice, there are few such cases.

References: [ LINK ]

[ LINK ]

32c: In law, are members of the national legislature subject to criminal proceedings?

Score:

YES

Comments: A member of the Parliament can be accused and detained with the consent of the National Assembly. (Article 66)

References: [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: RA Constitution, Article 66 A Deputy may not be arrested without the consent of the National Assembly except for cases when he/she is arrested when caught in the act. In such a case the Chairman of the National Assembly shall be immediately notified.

The members of the national legislature can be subject to criminal proceedings according to law (see above Art 66), however the law is more a formality than an effective or functional regulation; it lacks clear criteria on authorization of prosecution against a deputy and, in nutshell, suffers from the following shortcomings. First, the law states that a deputy cannot be prosecuted without the consent of Parliament. Unfortunately, the "buddy system" is so strong in the Armenian Parliament that most legislators avoid turning their coworkers in out of the fear of creating a precedent for easy removal of immunity. Second, the law grants broad immunities that allow legislators to get away with many wrongdoings. The broad and incomplete regulations on termination of deputy powers make it very hard to lift parliamentary immunity, thereby hindering thorough investigation (i.e. search warrants, access to financial records etc.) of parliamentarians suspected in crime. Third, the law contains vague language such as " deputy may not be arrested for actions arising from his status." Four, the law requires that the parliamentarians be caught in the act in order to be prosecuted. In reality this law is not functional because legislators who commit crime usually do it very discretely through third parties. Finally, the law provides the parliament with the power to decide over the case because even if the deputy gets caught, the case, as in a vicious cycle, goes back to the Parliament- Chamber of the National Assembly is notified.

Are there regulations governing conflicts of interest by members of the national legislature?

33a: In law, members of the national legislature are required to file an asset disclosure form.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the 1st sub-point of point 2 of article 5 of the Law on Declarations of Physical Entities, Property and Income, members of Parliament must present an asset declaration; the form and order are presented in point 2 of article 3 of the same law.

References: [ LINK ])=arm (available in Armenian)

33b: In law, there are restrictions for national legislators entering the private sector after leaving the government.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there are regulations restricting national legislators\' ability to take positions in the private sector after leaving government that would present a conflict of interest, including positions that directly seek to influence their former government colleagues. NO: A NO score is earned if no such restrictions exist.$

Comments: There are no restrictions for national legislators entering the private sector after leaving the government.

References: [ LINK ] (article 65)

33c: In law, there are regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to members of the national legislature.

Score:

YES

Comments: There are no regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to members of the national legislature.

References: [ LINK ]

33d: In law, there are requirements for the independent auditing of the asset disclosure forms of members of the national legislature.

Score:

YES

Comments: There is no mechanism of an independent audit, but an audit of asset disclosure forms of members of the national legislature is performed by the tax department. The bills are submitted to the department, which then verifies the correctness of data.

References: [ LINK ])=arm (article)

33e: In practice, the regulations restricting post-government private sector employment for national legislators are effective.

Score:

100

Comments: In fact, almost all of the national legislators have businesses and are entrepreneurs.

References: [ LINK ]

[ LINK ]

www.hraparak.am

www.168.am

www.zhamanak.com

33f: In practice, the regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to national legislators are effective.

Score:

100

Comments: There are no regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to national legislators.

References: [ LINK ]

33g: In practice, national legislative branch asset disclosures are audited.

Score:

100

Comments: The Control Chamber reviews the assets of the legislative member, but there no real effects come of this.

References: [ LINK ] (available in armenian)\

[ LINK ]

[ LINK ]" target="_blank">[ LINK ]

http://www.aravot.am

[ LINK ]

Can citizens access the asset disclosure records of members of the national legislature?

34a: In law, citizens can access the asset disclosure records of members of the national legislature.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the Law on Freedom of Information, it is possible to access the asset disclosure records of members of the national legislature.

References: [ LINK ])=eng

34b: In practice, citizens can access legislative asset disclosure records within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: Mainly journalists and non-governmental organizations can access legislative asset disclosure records. The response can take up to one month, but it depends on the department to which the request is made or the citizen who applies for the information. (According to law, the request should take up to one month.)

References: [ LINK ])=eng

www.a1plus.am

www.aravot.am

www.168.am

www.zhamanak.com

www.chi.am

www.lragir.am

34c: In practice, citizens can access legislative asset disclosure records at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: According to the Law on Freedom of Information, the information is free of charge if it does not exceed 10 pages. After 10 pages, there are costs charged for copying. The information is also available electronically.

References: [ LINK ])=eng

www.a1plus.am

www.aravot.am

www.168.am

www.zhamanak.com

www.chi.am

www.lragir.am

34d: In practice, the asset disclosure records of members of the national legislature are of high quality.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The asset disclosure records of members of the national legislature are complete and detailed, providing the public with an accurate and updated accounting of the individuals\' sources of income, investments, and other financial interests. 50 Score Criteria: The asset disclosure records of the members of the national legislature contain some useful information but may be lacking important details, including politically sensitive investment or other financial arrangements in which the individual has an interest. 0 Score Criteria: The asset disclosure records of the members of the national legislature are overly general, lack any meaningful detail, and do not provide clear accounting of the individuals\' sources of income, investments, and other financial assets.$

Comments:

References: www.a1plus.am

www.aravot.am

www.168.am

www.zhamanak.com

www.chi.am

www.lragir.am

Can citizens access legislative processes and documents?

35a: In law, citizens can access records of legislative processes and documents.

Score:

YES

Comments: For instance, the draft laws are circulated before they are included on the agenda and are available on the website of the Parliament. They are very rarely published in the media.

References: [ LINK ] (available in Armenian)

35b: In practice, citizens can access records of legislative processes and documents within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: Yes, citizens can access the records of legislative processes and documents within a reasonable time period.

References: www.a1plus.am

www.aravot.am

www.168.am

www.zhamanak.com

www.chi.am

www.lragir.am

35c: In practice, citizens can access records of legislative processes and documents at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: Taking into consideration the low level of social security for many citizens, it can be difficult to pay for access to the records of legislative processes and documents.

References: www.a1plus.am