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At the sitting of September 11, the Parliament debated in the first reading the draft law on Making Addenda to the Constitutional Law Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly authored by the deputies Hasmik Hakobyan and Arpine Davoyan.

The proposed addenda to the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly Constitutional Law refer to Articles 108.2 and 110.2 of the law. According to the current law, the Prosecutor General can present the petition on the initiation of criminal prosecution against the deputy and the Human Rights Defender or his consent to deprive them of their liberty only in the upcoming regular sittings of the National Assembly.

“That is, if, for example, the case happens at the end of the spring session, namely, in June, law enforcement bodies will not have the opportunity to fulfill their duties within the specified time, because the National Assembly can debate the petition only in September, three months later. With the proposed addendum, the petition on the initiation of criminal prosecution against the MP and the Human Rights Defender or on giving consent of depriving of his liberty can be debated in the upcoming regular sitting of the National Assembly or it can be debated in the NA extraordinary session or sitting,” the deputy Hasmik Hakobyan said, adding that with the adoption of the draft, the process of debating the petition will not be delayed conditioned by the regulations only.

The member of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs Anush Kloyan presented the endorsement of the Committee.

The position of the Government regarding the draft was also positive.

The opposition MPs Artsvik Minasyan and Gegham Nazaryan presented their views and proposals, proposing to thoroughly debate the issue. The co-author of the initiative Arpine Davoyan mentioned that the draft has no political objectives and context, as the opposition MPs think. According to the co-author, this is an amendment that needs to be made. The Chair of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs Vladimir Vardanyan also referred to his colleagues’ speeches and gave clarifications.

In her final speech, Hasmik Hakobyan also touched upon the views and proposals of her colleagues and gave clarifications.