The Provisions Worsening a Person’s Legal Status should not be Retroactive

29.01.2024

A group of civil society organizations, the Law Development and Protection Foundation, "Transparency International Anticorruption Centre" NGO, the Democracy Development Foundation, “Helsinki Citizen Assembly” NGO, and the “Protection of Rights without Borders” NGO have published an expert opinion on the draft law on Military Service and the Status of Servicemen. The organisations hold that the provisions worsening a Person’s Legal Status should not be retroactive. They refer to the respective constitutional safeguard provided in Article 23 of the Constitution, as well as the decision ՍԴՈ-723 of the Constitutional Court where the Court touched upon the similar regulation and established that new regulations cannot affect a person’s rights acquired by the legislation previously in force. Thus, the organizations propose to scrap the draft law or at least remove the provision provided in Article 2.

The expert opinion is available in Armenian.

The activities on draft laws are carried out with the support of European Endowment Democracy (EED.)

NGOs are concerned about the risk of disproportionate restrictions on the rights of trial participants

21.05.2024

On 10 April 2024, the draft laws on Making Amendments and Supplements to the Civic Procedure Code and Administrative Procedure Code of the RA were circulated on the Unified Website for Publication of Legal Acts’ Drafts.The Law Development and Protection Foundation, in collaboration with the Protection of Rights without Borders NGO, the Democracy Development Foundation, the Transparency International Armenia, and the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor Office published an expert opinion on the draft law pointing out 3 major problematic regulations, analyzing them, and making recommendations.The organisations assert that they have studied these draft laws and have come to the conclusion that several amendments are problematic and concerning as they carry a high risk of disproportionately restricting the rights of trial parties.

What does the new draft law On Enforcement Proceedings change: LDPF’s recommendations

29.02.2024

The National Assembly of the RA is currently discussing the new draft law "On Enforcement Proceedings," which introduces new cornerstone regulations in the area of compulsory enforcement of judicial acts. Back in 2022, the LDPF conducted research in this area, revealing the existing problems both at the legislation and law enforcement levels and submitting targetted recommendations. The Foundation discussed the research report with the Ministry of Justice and the Compulsory Enforcement Service. Subsequently, in March 2023, the LDPF was invited to join the Ministry of Justice's working group revising the draft law on enforcement proceedings. The effective collaboration within the group enabled the LDPF to include several key recommendations in the draft law.

The Government has integrated the LDPF’s recommendations into its decision

22.02.2024

Recently, the Government of the Republic of Armenia has fully adopted the LDPF’s recommendations on improving the content of court statistics and has included them in the OGP-Armenia National Action Plan 2022-2024. The changes will allow the public and all interested parties to get a more comprehensive picture of the justice sector and take steps to address the problems outlined.

The Provisions Worsening a Person’s Legal Status should not be Retroactive

29.01.2024

Problematic draft laws pertaining to overriding public interest

10.01.2024

The LDPF and partner organizations have published an expert opinion on the draft laws pertaining to overriding public interest. According to the organisations, the draft laws are problematic and concerning given the fact that they are not substantiated, which, in its turn, raises questions about the real purposes of the amendments.

The CSOs propose to withdraw from circulation the Draft Law on Making Amendments to the Law on Freedom of Information

08.01.2024

On 19 December 2023, the RA Draft Law on Making Amendments to the Law on Freedom of Information (hereinafter referred to as Draft Law) was submitted for discussion on the e-draft platform, the Unified Website for Publication of Legal Acts’ Drafts. We, the undersigned organizations, assess the Draft Law as highly problematic, taking into consideration the definitions of some regulations therein, which make the Draft Law regressive in comparison with the legislation in force. In the meantime, it is worth noting that the law in force itself is quite incomplete in terms of existing international standards and best practices.

Expert opinion on the Draft Law on State Duty

16.11.2023

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia circulated draft laws on Making Amendments to the Code on Administrative Offences of the RA and related laws, including the draft law on Making Amendments to the Law on State Duty on the e-draft platform. The Law Development and Protection Foundation has published an expert opinion on the latter, pointing out the problematic provisions and making respective recommendations.

The CSOs propose to withdraw from circulation the Draft Law on Making Amendments to the Law on Freedom of Information

24.10.2023

On 19 December 2023, the RA Draft Law on Making Amendments to the Law on Freedom of Information (hereinafter referred to as Draft Law) was submitted for discussion on the e-draft platform, the Unified Website for Publication of Legal Acts’ Drafts. The CSOs propose to withdraw from circulation the Draft Law on Making Amendments to the Law on Freedom of Information.