RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Non official translation
(By 26 February 2007, with amendments and addenda)
- General Provisions
- Chapter 1. Deputy of the National Assembly
- Chapter 2. Factions and deputy groups
- Chapter 3. The President of the National Assembly, the Vice President
- Chapter 4. Committees of the National Assembly
- Chapter 5. Sessions and sittings of the National Assembly
- Chapter 6. Procedure for proposing a motion in the National Assembly
- Chapter 7. Procedure for debate during the sitting of the National Assembly
- Chapter 8. Procedure for the debate of a draft law
- Chapter 9. Procedure for the debate of the drafts of the Constitution or the law on the amendments to the Constitution or those to be adopted by referendum
- Chapter 10. Consideration and approval of the state budget
- Chapter 11. Consideration and approval of the annual state budget execution report
- Chapter 12. Procedure for consideration of issues that are in the jurisdiction of the president of the Republic of Armenia
- Chapter 13. Procedures for consideration of the issues that are in the jurisdiction of the National Assembly
- Chapter 14. Procedure for discussion of issues related to the Government
- Chapter 15. Organization of the work of the National Assembly
- Chapter 16. Final Provisions
Article 1. The National Assembly and its authorities
1. The legislative power in the Republic of Armenia shall be implemented by the National Assembly.
2. The National Assembly is comprised of one hundred and thirty one deputies.
3. Within the scope of authority defined by the Constitution, the National Assembly shall adopt laws, decisions, addresses and announcements (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA-111).
Article 2. Activities of the National Assembly
1. The National Assembly shall operate in accordance with the Constitution and the present Rules of Procedure through the work of sessions, sittings, as well as its bodies, factions and deputy groups (Added on 26.02.2007, LA –111).
2. The activity of the National Assembly shall be based on political pluralism, on the principle of free discussion of issues and their settlement by joint efforts.
3. The bodies of the National Assembly shall be the President of the National Assembly, the Vice Presidents of the National Assembly, the Deputies and the Committees.
4. Factions shall be formed in the National Assembly, and deputy groups may be established.
Article 3. Operational language of the National Assembly
The operational language of the National Assembly shall be the Armenian language. If the person, invited to the sitting, delivers a speech in a foreign language, then the translation thereof into Armenian shall be provided.
Article 4. Place of holding sittings of the National Assembly
The sittings of the National Assembly shall be convened in the City of Yerevan, in the residence of the National Assembly at Baghramian 19. A sitting of the National Assembly can be convened in different places only by the decision of the National Assembly or, in case of impossibility thereof, by the decree of the President of the Republic.
DEPUTY OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Article 5. Rights of the Deputy
1. The deputy shall have the right, according to the procedure defined by the law:
a) to submit to the consideration of the National Assembly draft laws, draft resolutions of the National Assembly;
b) to deliver speeches, to present questions and make recommendations in the sittings of the National Assembly and its Committees (subcommittees, working groups);
c) to participate, present questions and deliver speeches in parliamentary hearings;
d) to be nominated and elected in the positions of the President of the National Assembly or Vice Presidents, a Chair of a committee of the National Assembly or his/her deputy;
e) to be included in the membership composition of one of the standing committees, factions or deputy groups of the National Assembly;
f) to be included in the membership composition of a temporary committee, subcommittee or working group;
g) to have access to any document addressed to the National Assembly and (or) its committees, except for the nominal or personal materials, as well as information containing state or official secret whereof the deputy is not entitled to be aware (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA-111);
h) to address inquiries and proposals to the bodies of public administration and local self-government, officials, institutions and organizations; to participate in the discussion of issues raised by him/her;
i) to be present at open sittings of the Government of the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter, the Government);
j) to participate in the sittings of the council of the Control Chamber of the Republic of Armenia; (hereinafter, the Control Chamber) (Amended on 25.12.2006, LA-12);
k) to meet with citizens and to organize receptions;
l) on compensatory basis to use electronic and telecommunication means of public administration and local self-government bodies for establishing communication in the territory of the republic.
2. The Deputy may have other rights prescribed by the law.
Article 6. Obligations of the Deputy
1. The Deputy shall be obligated, in the procedure defined by the law:
a) to participate in the sittings of the National Assembly;
b) to observe the security rules operating on the premises and in the building of the National Assembly;
c) to examine the proposals received from citizens and to respond to the requests;
d) to participate in the meetings of the committee of the National Assembly in which he/she is included as a member.
11 . Except for the case envisaged by point “e” of the 3rd paragraph of Article 99 of present law, for the days of invalid absences from the sittings of the National Assembly or its standing committee, the Deputy is not paid his/her salary.
The Staff shall count the absences of Deputies.
(Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111)
2. The Deputy may have other obligations envisioned by the law.
3. The status of the deputy is defined by the Constitution and the laws (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
Article 7. Guarantees for the activity of the Deputy
1. The heads and official persons of bodies of public administration and local self-government, state institutions, organizations, shall be obligated:
a) to meet with the Deputy by the initiative of the latter within the possible shortest period, unless otherwise prescribed by the law (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
b) to consider the Deputy's inquiry and to render a written answer thereto within a period of 10 days, except for the cases prescribed by present law;
c) to send a written notification to the Deputy on the discussion of the issue raised by the latter not later than three days prior to the discussion (Amended and added on 24.12.2004; LA-69).
2. The Deputy may be present at the sittings of state and local self-government bodies, according to the procedure defined by the legislation.
3. The Government shall inform the National Assembly beforehand about the date, hour and agenda of the open sitting of the Government, presenting the documents concerning the agenda. Deputies shall be provided with seats in the session hall of the Government (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
4. The Chairman of the Control Chamber shall inform the President of the National Assembly, the Vice Presidents, Standing Committees, factions and deputy groups on the date, hour and the agenda of the meeting of the council of the Control Chamber, presenting the documents concerning the agenda. Deputies shall be provided with seats in the meeting hall of the council of Control Chamber (Added on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
5. By the demand of factions, deputy groups or Deputies the local self-government bodies shall be obligated at least one day a month, to provide Deputies with furnished rooms or halls for reception of citizens and meetings with them (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
6. The Deputy may have other guarantees of activity prescribed by the Constitution and the law (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
7. The guarantees of activity of the Deputy may be limited only in cases prescribed by the Constitution in accordance with the procedure defined by the law.
Article 8. Activities of the Deputy
1. The working place of the Deputy shall be the residence of the National Assembly, where he/she shall be provided with a working room furnished and equipped with technical (including a computer) and communication (including internet) means, as well as a working room equipped with a microphone and an equipment of nominal electronic voting in the sitting hall of the National Assembly (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA - 69).
2. The work shall start at 9:00 a.m. The work time of the Deputy is not standard.
3. The remuneration of the President of the National Assembly, the Vice Presidents, the chair of a standing committee and the Deputy shall be defined by the law.
4. The costs incurred in the business trip shall be compensated to the Deputy by the National Assembly.
5. The Deputies shall be concurrently given annual vacation with the duration of 36 working days: 12 days in winter and 24 days in summer.
6. The schedule for the vacations of the President of the National Assembly, the Deputy Chairs and the chairs of standing committees shall be defined by the President of the National Assembly.
7. In accordance with Article 65 of the Constitution, the Deputy can not carry out entrepreneurial activity, hold office in state or self-government bodies or commercial organizations, perform other paid work, except for scientific, pedagogical and creative work.
The Deputy exercises his/her powers on a permanent basis.
(Amended on 26.02.2007 LA –111).
8. The term of authority of the Deputy shall be counted as general professional period of service. Uninterrupted length of service shall be preserved if the Deputy starts working within six months after termination of his/her authority as a deputy.
9. The pension of the Deputy of the legislative body of the Republic of Armenia shall be defined by the law.
Article 9. Immunity of the Deputy
1. When exercising his/her authority and afterwards the Deputy may not be prosecuted or held liable for actions of the Deputy arising from his/her status, as well as his/her opinion expressed in the National Assembly, unless it is slanderous or defamatory.
2. One may not involve the Deputy as an accused, arrest, or raise a question of subjecting him/her to administrative liability through judicial procedure without the consent of the National Assembly given according to the procedure defined by Article 98 of present Law.
3. The Deputy may not be arrested without the agreement of the National Assembly given in accordance with the procedure defined by the Article 98 of present law, except for cases, when the arrest is realized on the moment of committing the crime. In this case the President of the National Assembly shall be immediately informed (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA-111).
Article 10. Issues related to the activity of the Deputy
1. For the term of exercising his/her authority the Deputy shall be given a deputy certificate, a diplomatic passport and a badge with the words "Deputy of the National Assembly", the image whereof shall be approved by the decision of the National Assembly.
2. The organization of medical services and recreation of the Deputy shall be implemented according to the procedure define by the law.
3. The Deputy, who has no apartment in Yerevan, shall be provided with compensation equal to the amount of the rent for an apartment in Yerevan, and the size of the compensation shall be determined by the President of the National Assembly.
4. The Deputy shall not be subject to military service, drafts and military training.
Article 11. The assistant of the Deputy
1. The Deputy may have two assistants working on an unpaid basis.
2. By the assignment of the Deputy his/her assistant shall:
a) prepare documents to be submitted to the National Assembly for discussion;
b) prepare analytical, informatory and other materials necessary for the implementation of duties of the Deputy;
c) organize the reception of citizens by the Deputy;
d) perform clerical services;
3. By the assignment of the Deputy, one of his/her assistants may attend the sittings of committee and the parliamentary hearings (Added on 24.12.2004, LA - 69).
Article 12. Termination of authority of the Deputy
1. The authority of the Deputy shall terminate, if:
a) the (four-year) term of authority of the National Assembly has expired;
b) the National Assembly has been dissolved;
c) he/she has violated the requirement of part one of Article 65 of the Constitution;
d) he/she has lost the citizenship of the Republic of Armenia;
e) his/her absence from more than half of the voting during one regular session has been considered unjustified according to the procedure defined by Article 99 of present Law (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111);
f) he/she as been sentenced to imprisonment;
g) the court decision on his/her recognition as incapable has come into legal force;
h) the decision of the Constitutional Court on invalidating the registration of his/her election has come into force;
i) he/she has given his/her resignation in accordance with the procedure defined by Article 13 of present Law;
j) he/she died.
2. In cases prescribed by points "c", "d", "f", "g", "h" and "j" of paragraph 1 of this Article, on the basis of corresponding documents a statement on the termination of authority of the Deputy shall be drawn up, which the President of the National Assembly shall sign and send to the Central Electoral Commission within a period of five days.
Article 13. Procedure for the resignation of the Deputy
1. The Deputy shall personally submit his/her written letter of resignation to the President of the National Assembly, who shall publish it at the next sitting of the National Assembly (Amended and added on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
2. If the Deputy, within a period of 15 days after publicizing the resignation:
a) files a written request on withdrawing his resignation, then the President of the National Assembly shall inform the National Assembly thereon at the next sitting;
b) does not file a written request on withdrawing his/her resignation, a statement shall be drawn up on termination of his/her authority, which the President of the National Assembly shall sign and send to the Central Electoral Commission within a period of five days.
FACTIONS AND DEPUTY GROUPS
Article 14. Procedure for establishment of factions
1. Factions shall be established on the opening day of the first session of the newly elected National Assembly in accordance with the following principles:
a) elected deputies, nominated by a party or a block of parties having participated in the distribution of mandates by the proportional electoral system, shall be included in factions of the same name;
b) a faction, established through the union of deputies, who are elected by nomination of a bloc of parties, shall also include the deputies nominated by the parties of that bloc and elected by the majoritarian electoral system.
2. The faction shall submit in writing to the President of the National Assembly its charter, name, membership, names and surnames of the Head and the Secretary that the presiding officer shall publish at the next sitting of the National Assembly.
3. The Deputy may quit a faction by notifying in writing to the head of the corresponding faction.
4. The activities of the faction shall be terminated, if all its members quit the faction; and the activities of the faction shall be reinstated if at least one Deputy, having the right thereto, is included in its membership.
5 A written notification on the change of the membership composition of a faction, as well as termination or reinstatement of its activities, shall be immediately provided to the President of the National Assembly or the presiding officer, who shall make an announcement thereon at the next sitting of the National Assembly.
Article 15. Procedure for the establishment of a deputy group
1. At least 10 Deputies may form a deputy group through submitting to the President of the National Assembly a statement on the establishment of the group signed by the Deputies, which the presiding officer shall publish at the next sitting of the National Assembly.
2. The group shall present in writing to the President of the National Assembly its charter, name, membership composition, names and surnames of the Head and the Secretary.
3. The name of the group must not coincide with the name of any acting, suspended or forbidden party or a bloc of parties.
4. The Deputy may quit the group by notifying in writing to the Head of the corresponding group.
5. The membership composition of the group is expanded by the decision of the group after submission of a written request by a Deputy to the Head of the group,
6. The group shall be dissolved on the basis of its decision, or when the number of its members becomes less than 10 and is not supplemented within 14 days after an announcement thereon in the sitting of the National Assembly.
7. A written notification on the change of membership of the group or its dissolution shall be provided to the President of the National Assembly or the presiding officer, who shall make an announcement thereon at the next sitting of the National Assembly.
Article 16. Ensuring the activities of factions and deputy groups
1. Separate section in the session hall of the National Assembly shall be provided to the factions and deputy groups.
2. In the residence of the National Assembly the factions and deputy groups shall be provided with offices furnished and outfitted with technical equipment and communication means, with official bulletins of the Republic of Armenia and draft laws put into circulation at the National Assembly, conclusions presented by the Government and the Staff about the draft laws, draft law adopted with first and second readings, as well as with newspapers. (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA – 69).
3. The faction and the deputy group shall be provided with a car.
4. The sectretary and the experts of the faction and the deputy group shall be employed on the basis of a term contract, by the representation of the Head of the corresponding faction or group, and shall carry out the latter’s assignments, as well as assist to the work of the members of faction or deputy group by the assignment of the Head (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA-69).
5. The faction having less than 10 members shall have one receptionist and one expert prescribed by the list of staff members of the administrative staff of the National Assembly (hereinafter, the Staff); the factions, deputy groups having 11-14 members shall have 1 receptionist and 2 experts, and factions, deputy groups having more than 14 members shall have 1 receptionist and 3 experts.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, THE VICE PRESIDENTS
Article 17. Elections of the President of the National Assembly and the Vice Presidents
1. The right to nominate candidates from among the Deputies for the positions of the President of the National Assembly and the Vice Presidents shall belong to the Deputies.
2. The issues related to the election of candidates nominated for the positions of the President of the National Assembly and the Vice Presidents shall be discussed in accordance with the procedure defined by paragraph 2 of Article 97 of present Law.
3. The President of the National Assembly shall be elected by secret ballot, by the majority vote of the Deputies (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
4. The Vice Presidents to the President of the National Assembly shall be elected by secret ballot, by the majority vote of Deputies participated in the voting, if more than half of the total number of Deputies have participated in the voting (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
5. If the positions of the Vice Presidents to the President of the National Assembly are vacant at the same time, the nomination of candidates, discussion and voting shall be implemented separately.
Article 18. Authorities of the President of the National Assembly
1. The President of the National Assembly, in accordance with the procedure defined by the Constitution and the laws, shall:
a) perform the duties of the President of the Republic, in case the position of the President of the Republic is vacant, until the newly elected President takes office;
b) convene the special sessions and sittings of the National Assembly (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111);
c) sign and publish the decisions, addresses and announcements of the National Assembly (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111);
d) represent the National Assembly;
e) approve the membership composition of the Standing Committees of the National Assembly;
f) make an official statement;
g) consulting with the factions and deputy groups of the National Assembly determine the composition of the delegations of the National Assembly to international parliamentary organizations (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA – 69);
h) preside over the sittings of the National Assembly and the working conferences of the National Assembly;
i) submit to the National Assembly for approval the draft agendas of the regular session and four-day sittings;
j) approve the security rules operating on the premises of the residence and in the building of the National Assembly;
k) puts into circulation the drafts of laws and decisions of the National Assembly, and appoint a Head Committee (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
l) send to the President of the Republic the laws adopted by the National Assembly, as well as the decisions of the National Assembly on designating a referendum for the adoption of laws, the Constitution and making amendments thereto;
m) the subparagraph “m” is invalid (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
n) ensure the regular functioning of the National Assembly and convene political consultations in case if necessary (Amended on 03.07.2002, LA - 404);
o) manage the material assets of the National Assembly (Added 03.07.2002, LA -404), (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111);
p) approve the Charter, structure, list of staff positions of the Staff and the official rate of remuneration of employees, as well as approve the maintenance costs of the National Assembly;
q) appoint to and remove from office the heads of the Staff and its structural subdivisions, the representative of the National Assembly in the Constitutional Court (Added 26.02.2007, LA -111);
q) nominate candidates to the National Assembly for the appointment in the positions of the Members of the Constitutional Court , and - from among the Members of the Constitutional Court - to the position of the Chair of the Constitutional Court (Amended on 25.12.2006, LA -12);
r) approve the number of experts (specialists) of the ad-hoc committees of the National Assembly (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111);
s) make annual reports at the sitting of the National Assembly on the activities of the National Assembly and his/her activities, in accordance with the procedure prescribed by points “a” and “b” of the 4th paragraph of the Article 55 of this Law whereon no decision is taken (Added on 24.12.2004, LA -69);
t) approve the procedure for the accreditation of journalists in the National Assembly, as well as the procedure for holding press conferences in the residence of the National Assembly;
u) approve the composition of friendship groups of the National Assembly (Added on 24.12.2004, LA-69).
2. The duties prescribed by points "i" and "k" of paragraph 1 of this Article, shall be implemented after they are discussed in the working conference of the National Assembly by taking into account the submitted recommendations.
Article 19. The authorities of the Vice Presidents of the National Assembly
1. By the assignment of the President of the National Assembly the Vice Presidents of the National Assembly shall:
a) preside over the sittings of the National Assembly;
b) preside over the working conference of the National Assembly;
c) substitute the President of the National Assembly.
2. If the position of the President of the National Assembly is vacant, the duties of the President of the National Assembly shall be carried out by the Vice President of the National Assembly, who got the most of the votes when being elected (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA-111);
3. According to the Article 60 of the Constitution, when the President of the National Assembly assumes the responsibilities of the President of the Republic, the responsibilities of the President of the National Assembly are assumed by the Vice President of the National Assembly, who got the most of the votes when being elected (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
Article 20. Termination of authorities of the President of the National Assembly and Vice Presidents
1. The authorities of the President of the National Assembly and the Vice Presidents shall terminate if:
a) their authorities as a Deputy has terminated according to Article 12 of this Law;
b) they have given resignation according to the procedure correspondingly defined by paragraphs 2 or 3 of this Article.
2. The President of the National Assembly shall officially submit his/her resignation to the presiding officer, who shall publish it at the next sitting of the National Assembly. After the expiration of the five-day period:
a) in case of submitting the resignation again, the resignation of the President of the National Assembly shall be considered accepted;
b) in case of not submitting the resignation again, the presiding officer shall inform the National Assembly thereon at the next coming sitting, and the resignation of the President of the National Assembly shall be considered void.
3. The Vice Presidents of the National Assembly shall officially submit their resignation to the President of the National Assembly, who shall publish it at the next sitting of the National Assembly. If, within a period of 3 days after publishing the resignation, the resigning person:
a) files a written request on withdrawing his resignation, then the presiding officer shall inform the National Assembly thereon at the next sitting;
b) does not file a written request on withdrawing his/her resignation, the resignation shall be considered accepted.
4. The draft resolutions of the National Assembly on premature termination of authorities of the President of the National Assembly and the Vice Presidents shall be discussed in the National Assembly according to the procedure defined by paragraph 7 of Article 97 of this Law.
5. The decision of the National Assembly on premature termination of authority of the President of the National Assembly shall be adopted by secret ballot, by the majority vote of the total number of Deputies.
6. The decision of the National Assembly on premature termination of authorities of the Vice Presidents of the National Assembly shall be adopted by secret ballot, by the majority vote of the total number of Deputies participated in the voting, if more than half of the total number of Deputies have participated in the voting (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
COMMITTEES OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Article 21. Standing Committees and their activities
1. According to Article 73 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, Standing Committees shall be set up for the purpose of initially considering draft legislative acts and other issues and rendering their conclusions thereon to the National Assembly (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
2. The Standing Committees shall be formed in the first session of the newly elected National Assembly and operate until the end of authority of the National Assembly.
3. The membership composition of the Standing Committees shall be approved by the President of the National Assembly, if the principles, defined in Article 25 of this Law, have been observed.
4. The Standing Committees and the spheres of their activities shall be as follows:
a) Standing Committee on Foreign Relations - international treaties, international relations and interparliamentary relations;
b) Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport - science, education, publication, culture, links with Diaspora, press, radio, television, youth, sport;
c) Standing Committee on European Integration - links with the European Union and the Council of Europe, harmonization of laws of the Republic of Armenia with European legislation;
d) Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs - constitutional amendments, territorial administration, local self-government, electoral system, public service, judiciary, justice, prosecutor's office, civil, criminal and administrative legislation, Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly;
e) Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs – human and civil rights and freedoms, law and notary services, children’s rights, parties and other public associations, religion, gender issues, national minorities, information;
f) Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs - defense, security and internal affairs, emergency situations, police, military-industrial complex, military-educational institutions, military and police services;
g) Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Health Care and Environmental Protection - social security, health care, disability issues, labor, employment, family, maternity and childhood, housing conditions, natural resources and nature protection;
h) Standing Committee on Economic Affairs - taxes, duties, payments, agriculture, industry, urban development, energy, transport, communication, telecommunication, other branches of production infrastructure, tourism, trade and services, regional development, entrepreneurial activity, state property management;
i) Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs – budgetary legislation, state budget, loans, credits, money, money turnover, banking system, financial-credit organizations (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111),
5. The Standing Committee shall have its rules of procedure, which shall be approved by the decision of the Committee.
6. The organizational, documental, informational, analytical and professional activity of Standing Committees shall be provided by the secretariat of the Standing Committee, which shall be a structural subdivision of the Staff and shall act in accordance with procedure prescribed by the regulations of the Standing Committee and the Staff, being headed by the Chair of the Standing Committee (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
7. Each of the Standing Committees shall have one secretary (assistant) and 3 experts (specialists) defined by the personnel list of the Staff. The secretary (assistant) of the Standing Committee shall be employed and dismissed by the consent of the chair the respective Standing Committee, and the experts (specialists) – according to the legislation on state service in the staff of the National Assembly (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111);
8. The Staff shall provide the Standing Committees with the acts, adopted by the President of the Republic, by the National Assembly, by the Government, by the Constitutional Court, and with the newspapers of the Republic of Armenia.
Article 22. Ad-hoc Committee and its activities
1. In accordance with Article 73 of the Constitution, the ad-hoc committees shall be set up for the initial consideration of separate draft laws or for rendering conclusions, statements of information on certain issues, events and facts to the National Assembly (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
2. The National Assembly, when establishing an ad-hoc committee, shall define its tasks, time period and procedure of activity.
3. The ad-hoc committee shall, within the defined period, report on the results of its activities at the sitting of the National Assembly.
4. On the basis of the conclusion or statement of information rendered by the ad-hoc committee, the Deputy may, in two days after the report of the ad-hoc committee on its activity, submit a draft resolution of the National Assembly. By the conclusion of the Head Committee the draft resolution of the National Assembly shall be included in the draft of making addenda to the agenda of the regular session and in the draft agenda of the next coming four-day sittings (Amended on 03.07.2002, LA - 404);
5. The experts (specialists) of the ad-hoc committee shall be employed on a contractual basis for the term of activities of the committee. Their composition and quantity shall be approved by the President of the National Assembly upon the recommendation of the corresponding committee, unless otherwise prescribed by the decision of the National Assembly (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
Article 23. Sub-committee, working group and their activities
1. The Standing Committee may set up sub-committees from among its membership composition, as well as form working groups by defining their tasks, terms and procedure of activities and electing their heads.
2. The Deputy, as well as the expert (specialist) of a committee, faction, deputy group, the assistant of the Deputy and other specialists may be included in the membership composition of the working group (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
3. The head of the sub-committee or the working group shall perform the assignments of the Chair of the Standing Committee.
4. The sub-committee or the working group shall, within the defined time period, report on the results of its activities at the meeting of the Standing Committee.
5. The sub-committee or the working group may be prematurely dissolved by the decision of the Standing Committee.
Article 24. Ad-hoc Counting Committee and its activities
1. By the decision of the National Assembly, at the first three-day sitting of each regular session, an ad-hoc Counting Committee (hereinafter, the Counting Committee) shall be set up, which shall retain its authorities until the beginning of the next regular session.
2. The person whose candidacy is being put to a vote for election to a position or body, as well as the authors of the issue put to a vote, may not participate in the works of the Counting Committee during the voting.
3. The Counting Committee shall, from among its members, elect a chair and secretary of the committee.
4. The Counting Committee shall:
a) organize the voting by secret ballot and submit the results of voting to the National Assembly in accordance with the procedure defined by Article 62 of this Law;
b) register the Deputies in the case prescribed by paragraph 3 of Article 44 of this Law;
c) count the votes of Deputies in the case prescribed by paragraph 2 of Article 61 of this Law.
5. The decisions of the Counting Committee shall be adopted by the majority vote of its members.
Article 25. General procedure for the formation of committees
1. The number of members in each of the Standing Committees is equal to about 1/9 of the total number of Deputies (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
2. The membership composition of the committee must reflect the quantitative ratio of factions, deputy groups and other Deputies not included in factions or groups.
3. Deputies shall be included in the Standing Committees on the basis of their requests.
4. Factions shall be provided with member quotas in the Standing Committee in proportion to the number of faction members.
5. Members of the faction shall be included in the committee by the recommendation of the faction.
6. The faction shall have the right to be represented by at least on deputy in each committee.
7. The heads of factions and groups may, upon their discretion, not be included in the membership composition of Standing Committees.
8. The factions and groups shall have the right to change their members included in the Committees (Added on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
Article 26. The chair of the Committee and his/her deputy
1. The right to nominate a candidate from among the deputies for the position of the Chair of the Standing Committee, shall belong to the Deputies.
2. The issue of election of candidates for the position of the Chair of the Standing Committee shall be discussed according to the procedure defined by paragraph 2 of Article 97 of this Law.
3. The authority of the Chair of the Standing Committee shall terminate, if:
a) the term of his/her authority as a deputy has expired in cases prescribed by Article 12 of this Law;
b) he/she has given resignation according to the procedure defined by paragraph 4 of this Article.
4. The Chair of the Standing Committee shall officially submit his/her resignation to the President of the National Assembly, who shall publish it at the next sitting of the National Assembly. If, within a period of 3 days after publishing the resignation the resigning person:
a) files a written request on withdrawing his/her resignation, then the President of the National Assembly shall inform the National Assembly thereon at the next sitting;
b) does not file a written request on withdrawing his/her resignation, it shall be considered accepted.
5. The draft resolution of the National Assembly on premature termination of authorities of the Chair of the Standing Committee shall be presented and discussed by the National Assembly in accordance with the procedure defined by paragraph 7 of Article 97 of this Law (Added 24.12.2004, LA - 69).
6. The decision of the National Assembly on election of the Chair of the Standing Committee and the decision on premature termination of his/her authority shall be adopted by secret ballot, by the majority vote of the number of Deputies participated in the voting, if more than half of the total number of Deputies have participated in the voting (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
7. The chair of the ad-hoc committee, the deputy chairs to the chair of a committee, the heads of the sub-committees and working groups shall be elected by the decision of the given committee.
8. The Chair of the Committee shall:
a) prepare and chair the meetings of the Committee;
b) convene an extraordinary meeting of the Committee;
c) submit to the Committee for approval of the draft agenda of the meeting of the Committee;
d) coordinate the activities of the sub-committees and working groups;
e) provide the execution of the decisions of the Committee;
f) address and respond the requests directed to the Committee;
g) guide the work of experts (specialists) of the Committee (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA - 111);
h) invite specialists for taking part in the discussions of issues at the sittings of Committees, sub-committees and working groups (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111);
i) inform the Committee on the course of implementation of decisions of the Committee (Added on 26.02.2007, LA - 111);
j) coordinates the work of the Committee with other Committees and Staff (Added on 26.02.2007, LA - 111);
9. In case of absence of the Chair of the Committee or vacancy of the latter’s position, he/she shall be substitutes by his/her deputy, and in case of impossibility thereof - by the authorized member of the Committee upon the decision of the Committee.
Article 27. Procedure for convening the meetings of Committees
1. The regular meeting of the Standing Committees shall be, as a rule, convened on Fridays, the meetings of committees defined by points “b”, “d”, “h”, “i” of 4th paragraph of 21st Article - at 11:00 a.m., and those of the committees defined by points “a”, “c”, “e”, “f”, “g” of 4th paragraph of Article 21 – at 1:00 p.m. (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA –111);
2. The regular meetings of the temporary committee shall be convened on the days determined by the committee, but not less than once a week.
3. The extraordinary meeting of the committee shall be convened by the initiative of its chair or at least one third of its members, within the time period defined by the initiator.
During the sitting of the National Assembly it shall be prohibited to convene a meeting of committee (Added on 24.12.2004, LA -69);
4. The meetings of the committee shall take place in the residence of the National Assembly. The meeting of the committee can take place in another place by the decision of the committee, whereon the chair of the committee shall notify in advance to the President of the National Assembly;
5. The draft agenda of the committee meeting is formed from the draft laws reserved to the committee as a head committee - put into circulation, adopted in the first and second readings, draft laws and draft resolutions and the issues proposed by the committee members (Added on 24.12.2004, LA-69).
Article 28. Procedure for holding meetings of committees
1. The meetings of the committee shall be public, except for the case prescribed by this Law.
2. The closed-door meeting of the committee can be attended, besides the deputies, by the President of the Republic, the representative authorized by him/her, the Prime Minister, the representative authorized by him/her, as well as the persons invited by the decision of the Committee. Voting shall be prohibited in the closed-door meeting of the committee.
3. The open meeting of the committee, besides the persons indicated in paragraph 2 of this Article, can be attended by the heads of the structural subdivisions of the Staff, the employees of the department of public relations, the experts (specialists) of the committee, of factions and Deputy groups, the assistants of Deputies and other persons invited by the chair of the committee and prescribed by the law (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA -69), (Amended and Added 26.02.2007, LA -111).
4. The authors of a draft shall have the right to participate in the discussion of the given documents or proposals thereon at the meeting of the committee.
5. The authors of issues included in the draft agenda of the committee meeting, the Deputies who have submitted proposals on these issues, other interested bodies and official persons shall be informed at least 3 days prior to the discussion (added RA law-111 26.02.2007).
Article 29. Procedure of organizing discussions and adopting decisions in the meeting of the committee
1. The meeting of the committee shall be legally valid if at least ? of the total number of committee members are present (registered) at the meeting and it is chaired by the chair of the committee or, in the case prescribed by paragraph 9 of Article 26 of this Law, his/her deputy or the committee member authorized by the decision of the committee (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
2. The meeting shall start with the approval of the agenda. Other issues shall not be discussed before the approval of the agenda.
21 The issues at the meeting shall be discussed with the following turn
a) the speech of the main reporter
b) questions to the main reporter
c) the speech of the co-reporter
d) questions to the co-reporter
e) exchange of ideas
f) e1 ) the final speech of the co-reporter (Added on 26.02.2007, LA - 111)
g) the final speech of the main reporter
h) voting (Added on 24.12.2004, LA - 69)
22 The proposal on defining a special procedure for the discussion of an issue at the National Assembly shall be submitted by the author (main reporter) or the member of the committee and shall be voted after the voting of the committee (Added on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
23 At the meeting each issue shall be voted immediately after the termination of the discussion (added RA -69 24.12.2004).
3. The voting at the meeting shall be carried out only by the proposal of the members of the given Committee. The proposal on submitting a positive conclusion about the discussed issue to the National Assembly shall be put to voting. If, as a result of the voting, the proposal does not get enough votes for being adopted, or there is no proposal, then it shall be considered that the Committee has not submitted a positive conclusion on the issue to the National Assembly (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
4. The member of the committee may refuse to participate in the voting.
5. The decisions of the Committee shall be adopted by the majority vote of the committee members participated in the voting, if at least 1/4 of the total number of committee members have voted for the decision (Amended and Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
6. The protocol of the meeting, which includes the nominal results of voting of all issues discussed at the committee meeting, shall be signed by the chair of the committee (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
Article 30. The Head Committee
1. The Head Committee is the one committee designated by the President of the National Assembly from among the composition of standing or ad-hoc committees according to the procedure defined by this Law (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
2. During the discussion of an issue at the sitting of the National Assembly the representative of the Head Committee shall make an interfacing report by rendering the conclusion of the Committee on that issue.
3. Before the draft law is included in the draft agenda of four-day sittings, the Head Committee may take a decision on considering it as an alternative to a draft law regulating the same sphere and being included or already included in the agenda of four-day sittings but not discussed yet.
4. The Head Committee may render a conclusion on postponing the inclusion of the law or a draft resolution of the National Assembly on the agendas of the regular session or four-day sittings, by the recommendation of the author (main reporter), and in case of his/her absence, by the recommendation of the committee member (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
Article 31. Joint meetings of committees
The committees may hold joint meetings, where the decisions shall be adopted by each of the committee separately.
Article 32. Parliamentary hearings
1. The committees shall organize parliamentary hearings on issues concerning the spheres reserved to them by this Law, by notifying the President of the National Assembly (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
2. The date, hour and place of holding the hearings, as well as the list of speakers and invitees shall be approved by the decision of the committee. The day of holding a hearing must not be Friday or coincide with the day of the sitting of the National Assembly.
3. The information on organizing the hearing shall be provided to the mass media at least three days prior to the day of the hearing.
4. The hearings shall be held according to the procedure approved by the committees having organized them.
5. The hearings shall be conducted by the chairs of steering committees or, in the case prescribed by paragraph 9 of Article 26 of this Law, their deputies or corresponding persons or, in the case of its impossibility, the committee member empowered by the decision of the Committee (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
Article 33. Participation of Deputies in the meeting of the Committee
1. If it is impossible for the committee member to attend the meeting, he/she shall notify the chair of the committee.
2. Within a period of 30 days after the end of the regular session, the chair of the committee shall submit the President of the National Assembly a statement of information on the absence of Deputies from the committee meetings during that session. This statement of information shall be published at the first sitting of the next regular session.
SESSIONS AND SITTINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Article 34. Convocation of the first session
1. The first session of the newly elected National Assembly is convened after the election of at least two-third of the total number of Deputies, on the third Thursday, and in case of extraordinary election of the National Assembly, on the second Thursday, at 10.00 a.m., whereon it shall be announced by the Central Electoral Commission (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
2. Before the election of the President of the National Assembly the sittings of the National Assembly shall be presided by the eldest deputy of the National Assembly.
3. The President of the Republic and the Catholicos of All Armenians shall have the right to the welcoming speech in opening session of the National Assembly.
4. After the welcoming speech the Deputies shall pledge the following oath:
"For the sake of realization of national aims and strengthening and prosperity of the motherland – I swear to faithfully perform my obligations assumed before the nation, to preserve the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Armenia, to contribute to the independence and protection of interests of the Republic of Armenia, to do everything for civil solidarity and protection of national and human values."
Deputies that are included in the composition of the National Assembly later shall pledge the oath at the sitting of the National Assembly (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
5. After the oath of Deputies, the officer presiding over the sitting shall introduce the deputies, by reading the name and surname of each deputy, the number of his/her constituency or the name of the party or the bloc of parties. After this, the deputies shall be registered in accordance with the procedure defined by this Law.
6. The officer presiding over the sitting shall announce the agenda of the first session, i.e.:
a) election of the Counting Committee;
b) election of the President of the National Assembly;
c) election of Deputy Chairs of the National Assembly;
d) election of chairs of the Standing Committees;
e) formation of Standing Committees;
f) issue of approving the Government Program (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
7. Until the settlement of issues indicated in point "a"-"e" of the agenda, everyday sittings shall be conducted from 10:00 a.m. to 18:00 p.m. through sittings with the duration of one and a half hour. A half an hour break shall be announced after each sitting. The duration of the second break is one hour. The day of the sitting designed for the discussion of the issue "f" of the agenda shall be announced by the President of the National Assembly, and - in case he/she is not elected – by the officer presiding over the sitting.
8. The first session shall be closed by the concluding speech of the President of the National Assembly and by an announcement on the day of convening the next session.
Article 35. Procedure of convening regular sessions
1. The regular sessions of the National Assembly shall be convened twice a year, from the second Monday of September through the second Thursday of December, and from the first Monday of February through the second Thursday of June. The four-day sittings of the regular session shall commence on the day of opening the session (Added on 24.12.2004, LA -69), (Amended on 26.02.2007, NA -111).
2. The regular sessions shall be conducted in four-day sittings, convened once in every three weeks and shall take place from 12:00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m., through sittings lasting one hour and a half. One hour shall be the duration of the first break on all sitting days (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA-69).
3. Every Tuesday of four-day sittings from 5:30 p.m. the Deputies, according to the succession of their turn, may make statements with the duration of 3 minutes. In case of necessity the officer presiding over the sitting may prolong the sitting for 30 minutes. The next day the video recording of the sitting shall be transmitted in full by Public Television at 9:30 p.m. (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
31 At the second sitting of each Wednesday of four-day sittings in a regular session the question statements of factions and Deputy groups shall be discussed according to the procedure defined by Article 1051 of this Law. In case of their absence, or if the discussion terminates, other agenda issues shall be discussed.
4. At the last sitting of each Wednesday of four-day sittings in a regular session the Prime Minister and the Members of the Government, according to the procedure defined by Article 105 of this Law, shall answer the questions raised by Deputies. The same day the video recording of the sitting shall be transmitted in full by Public Television immediately after the transmission of the statements of Deputies.
41 If the discussion and the voting of all questions included in the agenda of four-day sittings before the term defined for four-day sittings, then the four-day sittings shall terminate after the voting of the last issues of the agenda. Irrespective from the time of termination of four-day sittings, the sitting prescribed by the 4th paragraph of this Law shall take place (Added on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
5. Sittings of regular session shall not be held on non-working holidays and memory days. Non working holidays, memory days and rest days shall be subtracted from calculation of the time periods defined by this Law, except for the cases envisioned by the Constitution (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
Article 36. Draft agenda of the regular session
1. The draft agenda of the regular session shall include the draft laws or packages of draft laws, draft resolutions of the National Assembly that have been put into circulation in the defined procedure and other issues prescribed by law.
2. The draft of the agendaof the regular session, as well as the draft on making amendments thereto, shall comprise three parts:
a) issues whereon the Head Committee has rendered a positive conclusion;
b) issues whereon the Head Committee has not rendered a positive conclusion;
c) issues of mandatory consideration or those discussed as of necessity.
3. The issues of mandatory consideration or those discussed as of necessity shall be the following:
a) issues with a certain term of discussion, defined by the Constitution or laws;
b) the issue of resignation of the President of the Republic;
c) the issue of incapacity of the President of the Republic to exercise his/her duties;
d) the issues on discussing the laws remanded by the President of the Republic with his/her objections and recommendations;
e) the recommendation of the President of the Republic on declaring amnesty;
f) issues having a certain term for discussion decided by the National Assembly;
g) issues included in the agenda of the previous regular session;
h) the issue on giving consent on arresting the Deputy, implying him/her as an accused and raising a question of subjecting him/her to administrative liability through judicial procedure (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA-111);
i) issues on ratification, suspension or invalidation of international treaties of the Republic of Armenia (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111);
j) issues on conducting elections for the vacant positions of the President of the National Assembly, Deputy Chairs of the National Assembly and chairs of Standing Committees;
k) issues on elections, appointments to positions and on termination of powers (relieving from position) in cases prescribed by Articles 83, 831, 832, 833, 834, 103 and this Law (Amended and Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
l) issues on discussing the question statements (Added on 26.02.2007, LA-111).
Article 37. Draft agenda of four-day sittings
1. The draft agenda of four-day sittings may include only issues that are included in the agenda of the regular session.
2. The draft agenda of four-day sittings shall comprise three parts:
a) issues whereon the Head Committee has rendered a positive conclusion;
b) issues whereon the Head Committee has not rendered a positive conclusion;
c) issues of mandatory consideration or those discussed as of necessity.
3. The issues of mandatory consideration or those discussed as of necessity on the agenda of four-day sittings shall be the following:
a) issues indicated in paragraph 3 of Article 36 of this Law, except for the issue indicated in point "g";
b) issues not completely settled in the previous four-day sittings;
c) issued included in the agenda of the previous four-day sittings but not considered;
d) issues on discussing draft laws in the third reading;
e) issues on discussing draft laws in the second reading;
f) issues that have expired the term for being incorporated in the agenda of four-day sittings from the agenda of the regular session.
Article 38. Procedure for discussing the agendas of the regular session and four-day sittings
1. The first sitting of the regular session shall start with the discussion of draft resolutions of the National Assembly on approving the agendas of the session and current four-day sittings.
2. The four-day sittings shall start with the discussion of the draft resolutions of the National Assembly on making amendments to the agenda of the regular session, as well as on approving the agenda of the current four-day sittings.
3. The draft resolutions of the National Assembly on approving the agenda of the regular session, making amendments thereto and approving the agenda of four-day sittings shall be discussed separately.
4. The President of the National Assembly shall have 20 minutes for presenting each of the drafts of the agenda of the regular session, of making amendments thereto and of three-day sittings.
5. Questions shall be raised in accordance with the procedure defined by Article 57 of this Law.
6. Exchange of opinions shall take place in accordance with the procedure defined by Article 58 of this Law with the following differences:
a) the speaker, except for the author of the issue on the agenda, shall speak over the microphone within 2 minutes;
b) the representatives of factions and deputy groups shall be given up to 2 minutes for the speech;
c) point “c” is invalid (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
7. The 7th paragraph is invalid (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
8. The discussion of the agenda of the regular session or of the draft on making addenda to it shall end by the concluding speech of the President of the National Assembly for up to 5 minutes, whereby he/she, based on the results of the discussion, shall at his/her discretion put to a joint vote
a) the issue of postponing the incorporation of issues or a part thereof into the agenda of the regular session or in the draft on making addenda to it, in case of adoption of which the remaining issues, and in case of non-adoption – the issues on postponing the incorporation of all issues into the agenda of the regular session and in the draft of making addenda to it shall be voted separately.
If the draft resolution of the National Assembly on postponing the incorporation of a draft law or draft resolution of the National Assembly in the agenda of the regular session or in the draft on making addenda to it does not get sufficient votes for the adoption, then the draft law or draft resolution of the National Assembly shall be incorporated into the agenda of the regular session or in the draft on making addenda to it.
b) the issue of incorporating the issues or a part thereof of the first part of agenda of the regular session or of the draft on making addenda to it in the agenda of the regular session, in case of adoption of which the remaining issues of the first part and all the issues of the second part of the agenda of the regular session or of the draft on making addenda to it, and in case of non adoption – all the issues of first and second parts shall be voted separately.
If the draft resolution of the National Assembly on including a draft law or a draft resolution of the National Assembly on the agenda of the regular session as a result of the voting does not get sufficient votes for the adoption, then the draft law or the draft resolution of the National Assembly shall be withdrawn from circulation (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
9. The discussion of the draft agenda of four-day sittings shall end by the concluding speech of the President of the National Assembly for up to 5 minutes, whereby he/she, based on the results of the discussion, shall at his/her discretion put to a joint vote
a)the issue of postponing the incorporation of issues or a part thereof into the agenda of the four-day sittings, in case of adoption of which, the remaining issues on postponing the incorporation into the agenda of four-day sittings shall be discussed separately.
If as a result of the voting the draft resolution of the National Assembly on postponing the inclusion of a draft law or a draft resolution of the National Assembly in the draft agenda of the four-day sittings does not get enough votes for being adopted, the draft law or the draft resolution of the National Assembly is included in the second part of the agenda of the four-day sittings.
b) the issue on including the issues of the first part of the draft agenda of the four-day sittings or a part thereof in the agenda of the four-day sittings, in case of adoption of which the remaining issues of the first part of the draft agenda of the four-day sittings, and in case of non adoption – all the issues of the first and second parts of the draft agenda are put to vote separately
As a result of the voting if the draft resolution of the National Assembly on including a draft law or a draft resolution of the National Assembly in the agenda of the four-day sittings does not get enough votes, the draft law or the draft resolution is withdrawn from circulation (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
10. Issues indicated in paragraph 3 of Article 36 of this Law shall be included in the agenda of the regular session, and issues indicated in paragraph 3 of Article 37 of this Law shall be included in the agenda of four-day sittings, without voting, unless otherwise stipulated by this Law.
11. The 11th paragraph is expired (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
12. At least 2 hours prior to the first sitting of four-day sittings, the Staff shall provide the Deputies in the session hall of the National Assembly with the drafts of agendas and amendments thereto, as well as the drafts of issues included in those agendas.
Article 39. Procedure for convening an extraordinary session
1. The extraordinary session of the National Assembly shall be convened by the President of the National Assembly on the initiative of the President of the Republic, at least one third of the total number of Deputies or on the initiative of the Government.
The extraordianry session shall be held according to the agenda and within the time period defined by the initiator (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
2. In case of convening an extraordinary session on the initiative of the President of the Republic or the Government, the agenda of that session and the drafts of issues included in it shall be sent to the President of the National Assembly by the initiator of the drafts (Amended and added on 26.02.2007 LA - 111).
3. The initiative of the Deputies to convene an extraordinary session shall be carried out through signing the form, which is provided by the Staff, and submitting it to the President of the National Assembly according to the defined procedure. The form shall contain the agenda of the extraordinary session and the date holding, as well as enclosing the drafts of the issues on the agenda. The form shall not be subject to amendment after it is submitted to the President of the National Assembly. If the form with the signatures of the required quantity is handed to the President of the National Assembly within 24 hours after its receipt, the latter shall convene an extraordinary session according to the agenda and within the time period defined by the initiator, at the same time sending the drafts of agenda issues to the President of the Republic or the Government. In case of failure to submit the form to the President of the National Assembly within the defined period, it shall be considered invalid (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA-111).
4. An extraordinary session may not be held on the days, which are designed for conducting four-day sittings.
5. The extraordinary session shall be interrupted by four-day sittings or by the recommendation of the initiator(s) upon decision of the National Assembly, which shall be voted on immediately without discussion. In case of settlement of issues on the agenda, the extraordinary session shall be considered closed (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
6. Unless otherwise stipulated by the decision of the National Assembly, the extraordinary session shall be held according to the following procedure:
a) 4 sittings with the duration of one hour and a half shall be conducted each day of the session;
b) a break with the duration of half an hour shall be announced after each sitting;
c) the duration of the second break shall be one hour.
7. The draft of the decision indicated in paragraph 6 of this Article may be submitted to the person, who presides over the sitting by the representative of the initiator(s) of the extraordinary session, and shall be voted on without discussion (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
Article 40. Procedure for discussing issues at the extraordinary session
1. A draft law or a draft resolution of the National Assembly may be removed from the agendas of the extraordinary session, the regular session and four-day sittings by the recommendation of the author (main speaker) or in other cases prescribed by this Law. The author (main speaker) shall have the right to make that recommendation at any time, which shall be passed without voting.
2. If the agenda of the extraordinary session contains issues on discussing the same issue in several readings, then prior to their consideration, the National Assembly shall discuss the draft resolution of the National Assembly, submitted by the initiator(s), on the special procedure for the discussion of those issues.
Article 41. The Procedure for convening an extraordinary sitting
1. The extraordinary sitting shall be convened by the President of the National Assembly on the initiative of the President of the Republic, at least one third of the total number of Deputies or on the initiative of the Government (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
2. The initiative of the President of the Republic and the Government for convening an extraordinary sitting shall include the agenda of the special session, the date of its holding and the drafts of issues on the agenda (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA -111).
3. The initiative of the Deputies to convene an extraordinary sitting shall be carried out through signing the form, which is provided by the Staff, and submitting it to the President of the National Assembly according to the defined procedure. The form shall contain the planned agenda of the extarordinary session and the date of holding, as well as enclosing the drafts of the issues on the agenda. The form shall not be subject to amendment after it is submitted to the President of the National Assembly. If the form containing the signatures of at least one third of the total number of Deputies is handed to the President of the National Assembly within 24 hours after its receipt, the latter shall convene an extraordinary sitting in accordance with the agenda and within the time period defined by the initiator, meanwhile sending the drafts of issues on the agenda to the President of the Republic and the Government. In case of failure to submit the form to the President of the National Assembly within the defined period, it shall be considered invalid (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
4. The extraordinary sitting shall be conducted during the regular session. On the day of four-day sittings an extraordinary sitting may be held from 6:30 p.m. to midnight. After completing the discussion of issues on the agenda the extraordinary sitting shall be closed.
5. Unless otherwise stipulated by the decision of the National Assembly, the extraordinary sitting shall be held according to the following procedure:
a) 4 sittings with the duration of one hour and a half each shall be conducted each day of the sitting, and 3 sittings - on the days of four-day sittings;
b) a break with the duration of half an hour shall be announced after each sitting;
c) the duration of the second break shall be one hour, except for the days of four-day sittings.
6. The draft of the decision indicated in paragraph 5 of this Article may be submitted to the person, who presides over the sitting by the representative of the initiator(s) of the extraordinary sitting, and shall be voted on without discussion (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
7. A draft law or a draft resolution of the National Assembly may be removed from the agendas of the extraordinary sitting, regular session and four-day sittings by the recommendation of the author (main speaker) or in other cases prescribed by this Law. The author (main speaker) shall have the right to make that recommendation at any time, which shall be passed without voting.
8. If the agenda of the extraordinary sitting contains issues on discussing the same draft law in several readings, then prior to their consideration the National Assembly shall discuss the draft resolution of the National Assembly, submitted by the initiator(s), on the special procedure for the discussion of that draft law (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
Article 42. Special sittings
1. In case of use of armed forces, declaring a state of martial law or a state of emergency by the President of the Republic, a special sitting shall be immediately convened by the force of law (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
2. The draft resolution on declaring war, the issue of using the armed forces and the program of activities for declaring a state of martial law or a state of emergency shall be included in the agenda of the special sitting without voting and be discussed (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
Article 43. Open and closed door sittings
1. The sittings of the National Assembly shall be public.
2. A closed door sitting may be convened by the decision of the National Assembly.
3. Dissemination of information, other than the official report on the content of the closed-door sitting, shall be prosecuted by law.
4. Voting shall be prohibited in the closed door sitting.
5. During the closed door sitting it shall be prohibited to bring into the session hall phototechnique, camera and video equipment, means of radio and telecommunication, as well as audio and data processing equipment, except for the telephone installed in the hall.
6. The shorthand notes of the closed door sitting shall be kept by the order of keeping confidential documents.
7. Besides the Deputies, the closed door sitting can be attended by the President of the Republic, the representative authorized by him/her, the Prime Minister, the representative authorized by him/her, the Chair of the Constitutional Court, the Members of the Government, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter, the Prosecutor General), the Chair of the Cassation Court of the Republic of Armenia, the Chair of the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter, the Central Bank), the Chair of the Control Chamber, the Head of the Staff and staff members, determined by the Head of the Staff, providing the servicing of the sitting, as well as persons invited by the officer presiding over the sitting.
8. Besides the persons indicated in paragraph 7 of this Article, the closed door sitting may also be attended by the heads of structural subdivisions of the Staff, the advisors and assistants of the President of the National Assembly and of the Vice Presidents, experts (specialists) of Standing Committees, factions and deputy groups, journalists accredited in the National Assembly, staff members, determined by the Head of the Staff, providing the delivery of information on the sitting, as well as persons invited by the presiding officer and the Lead Committee of the issue discussed (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
9. Special seats shall be designed in the session hall of the National Assembly for the President of the Republic, the representative authorized by him/her, the Prime Minister, the Chair of the Constitutional Court, the Members of the Government, the Chair of the Control Chamber and invited persons.
10. Only the drafts of issues on the agenda and relevant documents can be distributed in the session hall during the sitting.
11. It shall be prohibited to use cellular phones and other means of communication at the sitting, except for the telephone installed in the hall.
Article 44. Registration of Deputies at the National Assembly Sitting
1. The first sitting of the day, the extraordinary sittings, indicated in point "a" of paragraph 5 of this Article, shall start with the registration of Deputies upon announcement of the presiding officer. Deputies not registered shall be registered upon his/her request.
2. A Deputy shall be registered personally. The registration shall be equal to voting and the absence of the Deputy from the registration may be considered unjustified according to the procedure defined by Article 99 of this Law.
3. The registration of Deputies shall be carried out by an electronic system within 10 seconds. In case the system is out of order, the registration shall be carried out by the Counting Committee.
4. The sitting shall be legally valid if more than half of the total number of Deputies are registered by the defined procedure (the quorum is provided) (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
41 The number of registered deputies is always shown on the light board (Added on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
5. If the sitting is not legally valid, the registration shall continue until quorum is reached, but not more than 3 hours. If within the indicated time period:
a) the quorum is provided, the presiding officer shall inform the Deputies about the beginning of the sitting;
b) the quorum is not provided, the sittings of that day shall be considered failed.
Article 45. Procedure of presiding over the sitting of the National Assembly
1. The presiding officer shall:
a) open, interrupt and close the sitting;
b) determine the succession for discussing the issues on the agenda, and before commencing the discussion of each issue, informs about the next 3 issues (Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111);
c) give the floor and prolong the time for the speech;
d) organize the registration of Deputies, sign them up in turn, organize voting and announce its results;
e) coordinate the work of staff members servicing the sitting;
f) take actions, prescribed by paragraph 3 of this Article, against disturbing Deputies;
g) interrupt the speeches for restoring the normal process of the sitting;
h) make the disturbing invitees leave the assembly hall;
i) perform other duties defined by the law.
2. Disturbing shall be considered those deputies or persons present at the sitting of the National Assembly, who make noise, utter insulting expressions, do not execute the demands of the presiding officer, that derive from this Law, and do other actions breaching the order defined by this Law (added on 03.07.2002, LA - 404).
3. The following disciplinary actions may be taken against the disturbing deputy:
a) warning, by announcing his/her name, surname;
b) switching off the microphone;
c) depriving from the right to speak over the microphone during one sitting
d) prohibiting from being present in the hall for all sittings till the end of that day
e) depriving from the right of being present in the session hall for up to 6 days, except for the days, when no sittings are convened (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
The disciplinary measures prescribed in the first part of this paragraph, usually shall be applied by the presiding officer from the less strict to the stricter.
The disciplinary measure prescribed in the point “e” of the first part of this paragraph may be applied, if the disciplinary measure prescribed in the point “d” of the first part of this paragraph has already been applied, and the Deputy has not done it voluntarily.
In case if the Deputy does not obey to the disciplinary measure prescribed in the point “e” of the first part of this paragraph, the presiding officer shall assign the security bodies of the National Assembly to execute it (Amended on 03.07.2002 LA - 404).
4. If disturbance arises at the sitting and the presiding officer is not able to restore the normal process of the sitting, he/she may interrupt the sitting for up to half an hour.
5. If after resuming the sitting the disturbance continues, the presiding officer shall declare the sitting as closed (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA-69).
Article 46. Shorthand records of sittings of the National Assembly
1. The shorthand record of the sitting of the National Assembly shall be provided by the Staff.
2. The shorthand record of open-door sittings may be published (Amended and added on 26.02.2007, LA-111).
3. Within 10 days after the end of four-day sittings, extraordinary session and extraordinary sitting, the shorthand and audio records thereof shall be sent to the library of the National Assembly and posted in the website of the National Assembly, and after 30 days shall be transferred to the archive of the National Assembly (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA -69), (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
4. Each person making a speech at the sitting of the National Assembly shall have the right to review the shorthand record his/her speech and check its accuracy within 30 days in the library of the National Assembly.
5. The speaker can correct the mechanical inconsistencies in the shorthand record of his/her speech only upon permission of the President of the National Assembly.
PROCEDURE FOR PROPOSING A MOTION IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Article 47. The Right of legislative initiative
1. In conformity with Article 75 of the Constitution, the right of legislative initiative in the National Assembly belongs to the deputies and the Government.
2. The right of legislative initiative is exercised through the submission of the draft law or the package of drafts to the National Assembly for debate.
3. The package of drafts includes:
a) the proposed draft law,
b) other drafts to be adopted with the adoption of the draft law,
4. Enclosed with the draft law or the package of drafts, the following are submitted:
a) bases for the adoption of the law,
b) notice on the absence of the necessity to adopt other related laws,
c) subparagraph “c” is expired (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
5. A document including the article of the current law subject to amendment shall be attached to the draft law on the amendments to the law.
6. It is not allowed to include provisions on the amendments to different laws in the draft.
Article 48. The Right of proposing a draft of the decision of the National Assembly
In cases stipulated in the Constitution and/or the present law the right to propose a draft resolution of the National Assembly belongs to the deputy if neither the Constitution nor this law stipulate another procedure for this.
Article 49. Decisions on the organization of the activities of the National Assembly
In order to organize its activities, the National Assembly is entitled to adopt the following decisions in cases envisioned in the present law:
a) in the regular session, the approval of the agendas for four-day sittings and on the modifications of the latter,
b) on the approval of the extraordinary session, the procedures of sittings,
c) in the special procedure for the motions under debate,
d) permission to those invited to make presentations,
e) on the broadcast of the sittings of the National Assembly on National TV and Radio company, either live or recorded,
f) on changing the place of the session of the National Assembly,
g) on the closed-door sitting of the National Assembly,
h) on making up to one-hour break during the debate of a motion (Added on 24.12.2004 on LA -69).
i) on postponing the incorporation of motion in the agenda of regular session or four-day sittings (Added on 24.12.2004 on LA -69).
j) on repeating the voting of the motion (Added on 24.12.2004 on LA -69).
k) on debating the draft laws on making amendments and addenda to laws with two readings (Added on 24.12.2004 on LA -69).
l) on changing the terms defined for presenting the motion with second and third readings (Added on 24.12.2004 on LA -69).
m) on returning the debate of motion to the phase of presentation (Added on 24.12.2004 on LA -69).
n) on submitting proposals concerning the motion to competent state bodies and officials (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111)
Article 50. Procedure for putting forward a draft law
1. The draft law is put forward in the National Assembly when, in conformity with the requirements of Article 47 of the present law either officially, or in an electronic format, it is submitted to the President of the National Assembly or sent to the latter via e-mail.
If several deputies put forward the draft law, one of them acts as the author (the main speaker) in the course of the debate in the National Assembly (about the main speaker there is a mentioning in the note of putting forward). If the responsibilities of the author (the main speaker) are terminated, further progress of the debate on the draft law in the National Assembly shall be determined in conformity with Article 53, paragraphs 2-6 of the present law (Added on 24.12.2004 on LA -69).
After putting the draft law into circulation and during any phase of its debate, each author of the draft law may leave the staff of those, who have put forward the draft law, informing about it the President of the National Assembly in a written way, the latter announces about it before the debate of the draft law at the sitting of the National Assembly (Added on 24.12.2004 on LA -69).
3. The Government puts forward the draft law or the package of drafts upon its own motion, which includes:
a) documents referred to in Article 47 of the present law,
b) the full name of the authorized representative of the Government acting as the main speaker,
c) if necessary, the conclusion of the Government on either the reduction or increase of revenues of the state budget (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
Article 51. Procedure for circulating the draft law
1. Within a two-day period the President of the National Assembly shall circulate the draft or the package of drafts of the proposed law among:
a) the Government (if the author is a deputy), addressed to the Prime Minister and to the Staff who in a 20-day period shall submit their conclusions on the draft or the package of drafts to the President of the National Assembly,
b) Committees appointing the Head Committee from among them, which in a 30-day period, however not earlier than the receipt of the conclusions from the Government or the Staff or after the deadline set for the latter, shall submit its conclusion on the draft or the package of drafts included in the agenda of the regular session delivering the relevant excerpt from the transcript of the session of the Committee to the President of the National Assembly (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
c) the factions and Deputy groups (Added on 24.12.2004, LA -69)
11 If the deadline defined in subparagraph “b” of the first paragraph of present article expires before the Monday of four-day sittings, then the deadline is considered to be expired 2 hours before the first sitting of the forthcoming four-day sittings (Added on 24.12.2004 on LA -69).
2. The conclusion of the Staff consists of the conclusion of the experts on the conformity of the draft to the requirements of Article 47 of the this law including the list of drafts of the laws and decisions of the National Assembly to be adopted as conditioned upon the adoption of the aforementioned draft.
3. If necessary, the conclusion of the Government shall also include a conclusion on the reduction of revenues and increase in expenditures of the state budget (amended LA-111 26.02.2007).
4. If the Government fails to submit conclusion on the draft law put by the deputy within the period agreed, it is considered that it neither reduces the revenues nor increases the expenditures of the state budget (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111)
5. Within 24 hours after receipt, the conclusions of the Government and the Staff shall be sent to the Head Committee and the author (main speaker). (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111)
6. The draft law considered of high priority by the decision of the Government shall be debated and voted on in the National Assembly with the schedule set by the President of the National Assembly with deadlines for submitting conclusions about it, debating the draft in the National Assembly and adopting a resolution within two months of the regular session (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
7. The Head Committee shall submit its conclusion on the draft or the package of drafts of the law included in the agenda of the four-day sittings at least 2 hours prior to the first of the four-day sittings, at the same time making a decision on considering the draft as alternative, and shall send the relevant excerpt from the transcript of the session of the Committee to the President of the National Assembly.
8. The draft or the package of drafts of the law in circulation shall be included in the agenda of the regular session or four-day sittings in conformity with the procedure stipulated in Article 54 of the present law.
9. The draft or the package of drafts of the law may be withdrawn from circulation, moreover, from the agenda of regular session and (or) four-day sittings by the written proposal of the author (authors) or in other cases prescribed by this law. The author (authors) have the right to submit that proposal to the President of the National Assembly or the presiding officer any time, which is accepted immediately (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
Article 52. Procedure for putting forward and circulating the decision of the National Assembly
1. The written text of the draft resolution of the National Assembly is officially submitted to the President of the National Assembly or, in special cases, to the presiding officer of the session.
2. Paragraph 2 is expired (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111)
3. If no other procedure is envisioned by the this law the President of the National Assembly shall circulate the draft within a two-day period among:
a) the Staff, which within a 20-day period, submits its conclusion to the President of the National Assembly on the draft,
b) the Committees, appointing the Head Committee from among them, which, within a 30-day period, however not earlier than the receipt of the conclusions from the Government or the Staff or after the deadline set for the latter, shall submit his/her conclusion on the draft or the package of drafts included in the agenda of the regular session delivering the relevant excerpt from the transcript of the session of the Committee to the President of the National Assembly (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
c) the factions and Deputy groups (Added on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
31 If the deadline defined in third paragraph of present article expires before the Monday of four-day sittings, then the deadline shall be considered to be expired 2 hours before the first sitting of the forthcoming four-day sittings (Added on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
4. The Head Committee shall submit a conclusion on the draft resolution of the National Assembly included in the agenda of the four-day sittings at least 2 hours prior to the first of the sessions, delivering the relevant excerpt from the transcript of the session of the Committee to the President of the National Assembly (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
5. The draft resolution of the National Assembly that is in circulation shall be included in the agenda of the regular session or the four-day sitting in the manner envisioned in Article 54 of this law (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
51 The draft resolution of the National Assembly may be withdrawn from circulation, moreover, from the agenda of regular session and (or) four-day sittings by the written proposal of the author (authors) or in other cases prescribed by this law. The author (authors) has (have) the right to submit that proposal to the President of the National Assembly or the presiding officer any time, which is accepted immediately (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111)
6. The draft resolution of the National Assembly submitted upon the initiative of at least one third of the total number of the deputies shall be included in the agenda of the regular session and that of the coming three-day sitting without voting and shall be debated extraordinarily.
7. The initiative set forth paragraph 6 of this article shall be executed by signing the form received from the Staff in due manner and submitting it to the National Assembly. The relevant draft resolution of the National Assembly is attached to the form. After the form is submitted to the President of the National Assembly it cannot be subject to change. If within 24 hours after receipt the form is submitted to the President of the National Assembly with the signatures of at least one third of the total number of the deputies, the draft of the relevant decision of the National Assembly shall be included in the agendas of the regular session and the first of the three-day sitting and discussed extraordinarily. In case of failure to submit the form in due time, it is considered as expired.
Article 53. Draft Laws debated during the previously convened National Assembly on which no decision was made
1. After the first series of sessions the Staff shall, within a 7-day period, submit to the President of the National Assembly the draft laws discussed and passed during the first and the second readings by the previously convened National Assembly mentioning the authors and the Head Committees in a notice attached.
2. The President of the National Assembly shall, within a three-day period, send the aforementioned drafts to the Government and the relevant Standing Committees. The Committees and the Government shall, within a 30-day period, discuss the draft and submit comments to the President of the National Assembly on the need to discuss them during the regular reading.
3. Upon the recommendation of the President of the National Assembly, the Staff shall, within a 7-day period, provide the deputies with the aforementioned drafts and the relevant draft laws.
4. If the author of the draft law is either the Government or a deputy reelected during the newly convened National Assembly, and in case the author submits the given draft law within 60-days after the first series of sessions, the draft shall, in conformity with the procedure stipulated in Article 54 of the present law, be included in the agenda of the three-day sitting for debate in the regular reading.
5. If the author of the draft law was a deputy of the previously convened National Assembly and in case one of the newly elected deputies in a 60-day period after the first series of sessions expresses a desire to act as the author of the draft, the latter, as stipulated in the procedure of Article 54 of the present law, shall be included in the agenda of the three-day sitting for debate in the regular reading.
6. The law adopted by the previously convened National Assembly and later returned by the President of the republic shall, in conformity with the procedure stipulated in Article 73 of the present law, be discussed in the newly elected National Assembly upon the presentation of the Head Committee appointed by the President of the National Assembly.
Article 54 Schedule for including the draft laws in the agenda of the regular series of sessions and the three-day sitting
1. If no other procedure is envisioned in the present law, the draft law or that of the decision of the National Assembly shall be included in the agenda of the regular series of sessions upon the conclusion of the Lead Committee no later than 30 days after having been circulated, while the period for the Constitution or the amendments thereto or the draft laws for referendum shall be 40 days (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA -69), (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
2. The law put forward by the deputy or the draft resolution of the National Assembly shall be included in the agenda of the three-day sitting upon the conclusion of the Lead Committee no later than 60 days after having been included in the agenda of the regular series of sessions, if no other procedure is envisioned in the present law or no other schedule is set up by the decision of the National Assembly (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
21 If the deadline defined in first and second paragraphs of present article expires before the Monday of four-day sittings, then the deadline for including the law or the resolution of the National Assembly in the agenda of the regular session or in the draft of making amendments to it is considered to be expired 2 hours before the first sitting of the forthcoming four-day sittings (Added on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
3. The draft of the law put forward by the Government or the decision of the National Assembly shall be included in the agenda of the three-day sitting upon the conclusion of the Head Committee (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
4. The act of including the draft of the law or the decision of the National Assembly in the agenda of the regular session or four-day sittings may be delayed upon the conclusion of the Lead Committee and by the decision of the National Assembly (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA -69).
PROCEDURE FOR DEBATE DURING THE SITTING OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Article 55. Procedures for debate
1. Except for the cases envisioned in Article 34, paragraph 4, Article 39, paragraph 1, Article 41, paragraph 4, and Article 42, paragraph 2 no other issues shall be discussed in the National Assembly before the approval of the agenda.
2. Issues envisioned in Article 36, paragraph 3, (except for clauses "g" and "i") and Article 37, paragraph 3, clause "b" are to be discussed in an extraordinary manner. The President of the National Assembly shall take decision on the sequence of the discussion of all other items in the agenda of the three-day sitting, while its initiator or the representative of the latter shall decide that of the extraordinary session.
3. In conformity with Article 75 of the Constitution, the Government may set the priorities for the debate of the draft laws and demand that the drafts in question be put to a vote only with the corrections acceptable for the Government only (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
31 The debate of the issue shall commence with the announcement of the issue, of the names and surnames of the speakers, by the presiding officer (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
4. If no other procedure is envisioned by the present law, draft laws or the packages of drafts, draft resolutions of the National Assembly are debated in the following sequence:
a) report of the main speaker,
b) questions to the main speaker,
c) report of the supplementary speaker,
d) questions to the supplementary speaker,
e) exchange of opinions,
f) final speech of the supplementary speaker,
g) final speech of the main speaker,
h) voting.
5. The author of the motion acts as main speaker and the representative of the Lead Committee acts as supplementary speaker.
51 After the representative of the Head Committee, the members of all Committees of the National Assembly may have a supplementary report of 20 minutes with the turn defined by the President of the National Assembly, presenting the conclusion of the Committee on the issue (Added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
6. If the author (the main speaker) of the draft law is a deputy, then the person authorized by the Prime Minister is entitled to make a supplementary report after the representatives of Committees, and make a final speech before their final speech (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
7. If there is a break during the discussion of the subject, the discussion shall be taken further after the break from the point it was interrupted.
8. In conformity with the procedure stipulated in Article 56 of the present law, however no more than twice, the deputy is entitled to make a presentation on the chairing procedure. In the course of the debate the deputy is entitled to a minute’s time to clarify the misunderstanding resulting from his/her comments.
9. In the course of debate:
a) 20 minutes are envisioned for reports with a possibility of an extension of three more minutes,
b) up to three minutes for questions,
c) up to 7 minutes, with a possibility of an extension of three more minutes are envisioned for presentations,
d) up to 10 minutes for final presentation of the representatives of factions and deputy groups,
e) up to 1 minute for comments on the chairing procedures.
10. After the final speech, only the President of the republic has the right of an extraordinary presentation.
11. Before starting his/her final speech or upon the recommendation made in the speech by the author (the main speaker) and upon the decision of the National Assembly, an hour’s break may be taken (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
12. The issue rejected after the vote of the National Assembly is removed from circulation, moreover, from the agendas of the four-day sittings, as well as from that of the regular session, special session or special sitting, if the present law or the resolution of the National Assembly does not envisage another procedure (Amended and added on 26.02.2007, LA -111).
Article 56. Comments on the procedure for chairing the session
1. The deputy shall make comments on the procedure of chairing the session after the announcement of the facilitator on the microphone, before and after voting and before the report on the next item.
2. In the comments on the procedure for chairing the session the deputy is entitled to:
a) make a proposal on adopting the decision laid down in Article 49 of the present law (except for clauses "a," "c," "d", "h", "I", "j", "k", "l", "m" ), which is instantaneously put to a vote (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA-69),
b) make comments on the procedure for chairing the session,
c) make remarks on the violations during voting,
d) object to comments made in relation to his/her own person,
e) make a proposal in the case envisioned in Article 70, paragraph 1 of the present law.
3. The deputy is entitled to make comments on the issues listed in paragraph 2 of this article during his/her presentation.
Article 57. Procedure for questions
1. For being allowed to ask question the deputies shall, within 10 seconds, take turns by electronic means. In case of the breakdown of the system the deputies shall be registered by the presiding officer of the session.
2. The progress of the registration through the electronic system is shown on the monitor.
3. The questions shall be asked on the microphone in the sequence of registration upon the announcement of the presiding officer of the session who shall also give a notice to the next person in the turn.
4. The deputy absent from the hall looses the chance to ask a question.
5. The presiding officer of the session is entitled to switch the microphone off if there is argument between the deputy asking a question and the speaker.
6. In the course of exchanging opinions no questions shall be asked to the speaker.
7. A deputy shall ask questions to each speaker only once.
Article 58. Procedure for exchanging opinions
1. The following sequence is applied in the course of exchanging opinions:
a) speeches of deputies,
b) speeches of the representatives of factions and deputy groups.
2. In conformity with the procedure stipulated in paragraph 8 of the present article, only the President of the republic, the President of the National Assembly, his/her Deputy Chairs and the Prime Minister shall be entitled to make an extraordinary speech during the exchange of opinions for unlimited period of time.
3. The persons invited to the debate of an item shall be given the floor upon the recommendation of the Lead Committee or the presiding officer of the session and by the decision of the National Assembly.
4. For being allowed to make presentations the deputies shall, within 10 seconds, take turns by electronic means. In case of the breakdown of the system the deputies shall be registered by the presiding officer of the session.
5. The speakers shall make presentations from the platform in the sequence of registration and upon the announcement of the presiding officer of the session, who shall give a notice to the next speaker. The deputies absent from the hall shall lose the opportunity to make a speech.
6. The heads or the secretaries of factions and deputy groups shall submit the full name of their representatives to the presiding officer of the session in writing.
7. The requests for the presentations of the representatives of factions and deputy groups shall be submitted before the end of the presentations of the Government members and the registered deputies. The sequence of the presentations to be made by the representatives of factions and deputy groups shall be determined on the basis of the number of their members.
8. Before the presentations of the representatives of factions and deputy groups the members of the Government, upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister, shall have a right of three extraordinary presentations.
Article 59. Special procedure for the debate of a motion
1. Upon the recommendation of the author (main speaker) and the Head Committee, the National Assembly is entitled to set a special procedure for the debate of a separate motion.
2. The special procedure should not limit the number of deputies asking questions and the speakers, neither should it limit the time envisioned for the presentations or questions as stipulated in the present law.
3. The author (the main speaker) shall introduce the aforementioned procedure in his/her report and the National Assembly shall take the relevant decision without any discussion whatsoever.
Article 60. Adoption of the law, decision, address and announcement of the National Assembly (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
1. The laws, decisions addresses and announcements of the National Assembly with the exception of the cases envisioned in the Constitution, shall be passed by the majority of votes of the deputies, participated in voting - when more than a half of the total number of deputies took part in voting. The decision is adopted through open voting. (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
2. In cases envisioned in the present law, decisions of the National Assembly shall be adopted by secret voting.
3. In relation to passing the draft law through the first and second readings or its adoption as a law (in the course of any reading) the Government can raise the motion of confidence. In relation to this, immediately after voting, the Prime Minister or the authorized representative of the Government is entitled to ask for a break until the next session for allowing thinking over the motion of confidence in the Government with respect to the adoption of the draft law. If immediately after the break the Prime Minister raises the motion of confidence in the Government as related to the adoption of the draft law and no draft resolution on the no confidence in the Government is submitted in the manner envisioned in Article 107 of the present law, or the aforementioned draft resolution is submitted but not approved, then the draft law shall pass the relevant reading or adopted as a law.
4. In conformity with Article 75 of the Constitution, the Government is entitled to raise the motion of confidence as related to the adoption of the law no more than twice during the same series of sessions.
5. Only the drafts delivered to the deputies at least one hour prior to the discussion and duly discussed shall be put to a vote in the National Assembly if the present law envisions no other procedure.
6. The decision of the National Assembly enters into force on the basis of the law or when published within the period and in the manner envisioned in the law. The decision on the organization of activities of the National Assembly enters into force immediately if no other schedule is envisioned in the aforementioned decision.
7. The addresses and announcements are adopted by the defined order for the decision of the National Assembly. (Added on 26.02.2007, LA-111)
Article 61. Procedure for open voting
1. The presiding officer of the session shall announce the approximate time of voting and before voting shall announce all the proposals to be put to a vote, clarifying their formulations, while in cases laid down in Article 60, paragraph 1 of the present law and stipulated in the Constitution, shall also remind the number of votes necessary for the adoption of the decision. (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA-111)
2. The open vote takes place within 10 seconds after the announcement by the presiding officer of the session by electronic means. If there is a breakdown of the system, the Counting Committee shall count the votes.
3. Upon the demand of the heads or secretaries of factions and deputy groups one break of 20 minutes may be taken before voting.
4. Voting shall start after the signal. It is prohibited to speak to the presiding officer of the session before the end of voting.
5. The deputy shall vote either for, against, abstention or shall refuse participating in voting envisaged by the subparagraph “d” and “e” of the third paragraph of the Article 99 of this law.
(Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
6. After voting the results of voting of the sessions shall be left on the monitor for 10 seconds, after which the presiding officer shall announce the results of the voting. (Amended on 24.12.2004. LA-69)
7. The results of voting shall be restored on the monitor if proposed by a deputy in his/her speech on the procedure. If there are breaches, revealed by the presiding officer, which influence the results of voting, the voting of that issue is repeated by the proposal of the presiding officer. (Amended on 24.12.2004 LA-69)
8. The results of voting, for against, abstention or not voting are not subject to complaint or change after the announcement on passing a decision or not by the presiding officer. (Amended, on 24.12.2004, LA-69)
Article 62. Procedure for secret voting
1. The Counting Committee shall organize secret voting on the basis of the list of deputies present (and duly registered) in the session, which shall be provided by the Staff.
2. The voting papers are prepared under the oversight of the Counting Committee in the manner and number envisioned by the latter.
3. The voting papers shall include the relevant item or list in alphabetical order the full names of the proposed and agreed candidates.
4. In case there is one candidate or item in the voting paper, there shall be the words "For" and "Against."
5. The list of items or candidacies shall be delivered to the Counting Committee by the presiding officer of the session of the National Assembly.
6. The time and place for secret voting, as well as the procedure for that is determined by the Counting Committee with a notice to the deputies of the National Assembly during the session.
7. The Counting Committee shall hand the voting papers over to the deputy after the latter signs in the list.
8. The deputy shall check the voting paper in the booth for secret voting, leaving the name of the candidate he/she is voting for and checking the names of the rest. In case of one candidate or item, the deputy shall check the word "against" (if he/she is voting for the candidate) or the word "for" (if he/she is voting against the candidate).
9. Within 30 minutes after the end of voting the Counting Committee shall open the box of secret voting and start counting the votes.
10. A voting paper shall be considered invalid if the model of the voting paper is unidentified, as well as when more than the normal number of candidates is left or in case of only one candidate or item both "for" and "against" are checked, as well as when other notes are made on it.
11. Minutes shall be taken on the results of the secret voting, which shall be signed by the members of the Counting Committee.
12. The Counting Committee shall make a presentation on the results of secret voting at the session of the National Assembly on the basis of which the presiding officer shall make an announcement on the adoption of the decision and on the election of the candidate in case of elections.
PROCEDURE FOR THE DEBATE OF A DRAFT LAW
Article 63. The general procedure for the debate of a draft law
1. The draft law shall pass three readings in the National Assembly, if the present law stipulates no other procedure.
2. Upon the recommendation of the author (main speaker) or the Lead Committee and by the decision of the National Assembly, the drafts of the laws on the amendments to the laws can pass two readings in conformity with Article 72, paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the present law. The draft of the aforementioned decision can be presented before starting the first reading of the draft law and put to the extraordinary vote.
Article 64. First reading of the draft law
1. The draft of the law or the package of drafts is put to debate in the first reading in conformity with the procedure stipulated in Article 55 of the present law.
2. In his/her final presentation the author (the main speaker) can make changes in the draft of the law taking out articles or a draft law when amending the package of drafts, with the exception of the proposed draft and propose:
a) to pass the draft or the package of drafts through the first reading,
b) to postpone the debate in the stage of voting until the end of the next three-day sitting in order to make the relevant amendments to the draft law or the package of drafts, which means adopted without voting.
3. If upon the recommendation of the author (the main speaker) the debate of the motion is postponed in the stage of voting, then it shall be taken further with a 10-minute speech of the author (the main speaker), where he/she can suggest that the draft or the package of drafts is adopted by the first reading.
4. If the proposal, made by the author (the main speaker,) of the subparagraph 2 or paragraph 3 of the present article, fails to obtain the relevant number of votes, the issue is removed from the circulation. (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA-111)
5. The draft or the package of the drafts adopted in the first reading within a 7-day period shall be sent to the President of the Republic, the Government, the Head Committee, deputy groups and the Staff and shall be post in the electronic web site of the National Assembly. (Added on 24.12.2004, LA-69)
Article 65. First reading of the alternative draft laws
1. The drafts of laws included in the agenda of the 3-day sittings, and considered alternative in relation to each other, are put for the first reading consecutively as envisioned in the procedure stipulated in Article 64 of the present law with the following difference: the debate of the draft or the package of drafts at the stage of voting can be postponed until the end of the next three-day sitting only if there is written agreement of the author of the other alternative drafts or packages of drafts all at once.
2. If more than two alternative drafts are put to the vote and neither obtains the necessary number of votes, then a second stage of voting shall take place where the draft that has obtained more votes is put to the second vote.
3. If two draft laws are put to the vote and neither obtains the relevant number of votes, then the draft, which has obtained the majority of votes "for" passes.
4. If more than one draft law obtains the relevant number of votes for the first reading, then the one which has obtained more votes "for" passes.
5. If more than one draft law obtains equal number of votes for the first reading, then the one, which has obtained fewer votes “against”, passes.
6. The draft on Alternative law, discussed and not passed in the first reading by the National Assembly, is removed from the circulation. (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA-111)
Article 66. Proposals on the draft law or the package of drafts adopted by the first reading
1. The right to make proposals on the draft law or the package of drafts belongs to the deputies and the Government.
2. After receiving the draft law or the package of drafts adopted by the first reading in a 14-day period, if no other schedule is envisioned by the decision of the National Assembly, proposals on the draft law or the package of drafts shall officially be submitted to the Staff, which within a 24-day period shall deliver them to the author (the main speaker) and the Lead Committee.
3. The proposal on the draft shall include the number of the relevant article and the amendment proposed.
Article 67. The second reading of the draft law
1. Within 30 days after the time allocated for the submission of proposals on the draft law or the package of drafts adopted by the first reading expires, the author (the main speaker) shall submit to the Lead Committee the draft law or the package of drafts amended in conformity with the proposals, attaching to the latter the notice including all the proposals submitted in accordance with the procedure stipulated in Article 66 of the present law, as well as the information list of amendments made in the draft upon his/her own initiative including:
a) the full name of the author,
b) the sub-clause, paragraph and article the proposal (the amendment) refers to,
c) the amendment,
d) the conclusion of the author (main speaker) on the proposal.
2. The amendments to the draft law or the package of drafts shall be made in the font different from the font of the text of the draft.
3. The proposals on which the author (the main speaker) is positive shall be included in the draft law or the package of drafts for the second reading.
4. Within a 14-day period the Lead Committee shall, apart from its conclusion and the information list, submit to the head of the National Assembly the final version of the draft law and the package of drafts, which shall be included in the agenda of the regular three-day sitting for the second reading.
41 . If the term defined in the 4th paragraph of this law expires up to Monday of the four-day sittings the term is completed before two hours of the first sitting of the exhausted upcoming four-day sittings. (Added on 24.12.2004, LA-69)
5. The schedule of this article shall be subject to change upon the recommendation of the author (the main speaker) or the Lead Committee and by the decision of the National Assembly if the Constitution and the law envisage no other procedure.
Article 68. Adoption in the first reading of the amendments to the draft law or the package of the drafts adopted in the first reading
1. If the draft law submitted for the second reading is supplemented by an article, or if the package of drafts is supplemented by a new draft, or in conformity with the conclusion of the Lead Committee the content of the article or the draft law, which has passed its first reading, has been completely amended, then the second reading shall start with the debate of the article or the draft law supplemented or completely amended as a result of the first reading in conformity with the procedure stipulated in Article 64 of the present law. (Amended, 24.12.2004 RA Law-69)
Article 69. The second reading of the draft law
1. The second reading of the draft law or the package of drafts shall start in conformity with the procedure stipulated in Article 55 of the present law with the following exception:
a) the authors of the proposals included in the bulletin have the right to give questions to the speakers. (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA-111)
b) the subparagraph “b” is expired. (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA-69)
c) the subparagraph “c” is expired. (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA-69)
2. In his/her final speech on the draft law or the package of drafts the author (the main speaker) can propose:
a) to adopt it by the second reading,
b) to postpone the debate at the stage of voting until the end of the next three-day sitting with the purpose of amending the draft in the manner stipulated in paragraph 3 of the present article, which means adopted without voting.
3. The author (the main speaker) can include or reject the proposals in the information list with the following exception:
a) The draft law or the package of drafts cannot be supplemented by the article or the draft law rejected by the first reading,
b) The subparagraph “b” is expired. (Amended on 24.12.2004, LA-69)
A new information list produced in conformity with the procedure stipulated in Article 67 of the present law is attached to the draft law or the package of drafts.
4. The debate shall be taken further with a 10-minute speech of the author (the main speaker), where he/she can suggest that the draft law or the package of drafts is adopted by the second reading.
5. If in conformity with paragraph 2, subparagraph "a" or paragraph 4 of this article, the proposal of the author (the main speaker) fails to obtain the relevant number of votes, the draft law is removed from the circulation or upon the recommendation of the author (the main speaker) and without a second debate, all proposals of the information list are put to a vote in conformity with the procedure stipulated in Article 70 of this law with the exception of those adopted in conformity with the procedure of Article 68 of this law. (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA-111)
6. After voting on the proposals in the information list, the author (the main speaker) makes a 3-minute speech suggesting that the debate (on the issue of including the proposals adopted by voting be included in the agenda), be postponed until the end of the next three-day sitting, which means adopted without voting.
7. The debate is restarted with a 3-minute speech of the author (the main speaker) where he/she can suggest that the draft law passes in the second reading. If as a result of voting the proposal fails to obtain the relevant number of votes, the draft law is removed from the circulation. (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA-111)
8. The draft law or the package of drafts passed by the second reading shall, within a 7-day period, be sent to the President of the republic, the Government and the Lead Committee.
Article 70. Procedure for putting the proposals of the information list to the vote
1. The proposals on which there is an agreement of the author (the main speaker) shall be put to a vote if there is no objection on the part of any deputy.
2. The proposals are put to a vote in the following sequence:
a) remove the draft law from the package of the drafts,
b) Supplement the package of drafts with a new draft law,
c) Annul a complete article,
d) Supplement the draft law with a new article,
e) Partially annul an article,
f) Amend the text,
g) Supplement the text.
3. Controversial proposals on one and the same article of the draft law shall be put to a vote on a competitive basis in conformity with the procedure of Article 65 of the present law.
4. The proposal, which in its content is controversial with the adopted proposal, shall not be put to a vote.
5. If the proposals stated in paragraph 2, clauses "b" and "d" of the present article succeed in obtaining the relevant number of votes they shall be passed by the first reading.
Article 71. The third reading of the draft law
1. After the second reading within a 30-day period, the Lead Committee jointly with the author (the main speaker) can edit the draft. However, they shall not change the meaning of the adopted text and shall later submit it to the President of the National Assembly.
11 . If the term defined in the 1st paragraph of this law expires up to Monday of the four-day sittings, the term is supplemented before the two hours of the first sitting of the exhausted upcoming four-day sittings. (Added on 24.12.2004, LA-69)
2. An information list shall be attached to the draft law or the package of drafts submitted for the third reading, which in the sequence of articles, shall state:
a) the amended article,
b) the previous text of the sub-clause, paragraph and article,
c) the new text of the sub-clause, paragraph and article.
3. After being submitted to the President of the National Assembly the draft law is included in the draft agenda of the regular three-day sitting for the third reading. The schedule of the present article is subject to change upon the recommendation of the author (the main speaker) or the Lead Committee and by the decision of the National Assembly if no other procedure is stipulated in the Constitution and the legislation.
Article 72. The debate of the draft law by the third reading
1. In the course of the debate of the draft law or the package of drafts by the third reading the representative of the Lead Committee and the author (the main speaker) shall make a 10-minute presentation each.
2. The author can suggest that the draft law or the drafts included in the package of drafts are adopted as a law. (Amended on 26.02.2007, LA-111)
3. If the proposal of paragraph 2 of the present article fails to obtain the relevant number of votes, then immediately after voting the author (the mains speaker) can make a 5-minute presentation and suggest that by the decision of the National Assembly, the debate of the draft law or the package of drafts is taken back to the stage of submission of recommendations as stipulated in Article 66 of the present law.
4. If the proposal of paragraph 2 of the present article fails to obtain the relevant number of votes and the author (the main speaker) has not made the proposal stated in paragraph 3 or it was submitted but not adopted, then the draft law is removed from the circulation. (Amended. On 26.02.2007 LA-111)
5. The President of the National Assembly shall, within a 10-day period, send the adopted law to the President of the Republic who, within a 21-day period after having received the law, shall sign it and publish or return it to the National Assembly with objections or recommendations.
Article 73. Debate on the laws returned by the president of the republic
1. The law returned by the President of the Republic shall be included in the agendas of the regular series of sessions and the pending three-day sittings and be put to extraordinary debate.
2. The President of the National Assembly shall, within a 24-hour period, send the law returned by the President of the Republic to the relevant Head Committee, which shall submit its conclusion to the President of the National Assembly at least two hours prior to the first of the four-day sittings of the regular series of sessions.
3. If the President of the Republic is not fully against the adoption of the law, then the law returned with objections or recommendations shall be discussed in conformity with the procedure of Article 55 of the present law. The main speaker shall be the representative of the President of the Republic and the supplementary speaker will be that of the Head Committee.
4. In the course of the exchange of opinions the deputies are entitled to make proposals only on the recommendations made by the President of the Republic submitted in conformity with Article 72, paragraph 5 of the present law.
5. In his/her final speech the representative of the President of the Republic can propose:
a) to adopt the law in the form acceptable for the President of the Republic,
b) in order to finalize the law in line with the comments of the President of the Republic, to postpone the debate at the stage of voting until the beginning of the next three-day sitting, which means adopted without voting.
6. If upon the proposal of the representative of the President of the Republic the debate of the issue is postponed, then it shall be taken further with a 3-minute speech of the representative of the President of the republic, where he/she can suggest that the law is adopted in the final form as amended in line with the comments of the President of the republic.
7. If the President of the Republic has objected to the adoption of the law, then the representative of the President and that of the Head Committee shall make final presentations after which the issue on accepting the objections made by the President of the Republic shall be put to a vote.
8. If the issues put to a vote in conformity with the procedure stipulated in paragraph 5, clause "a", paragraph 6 or 7 fail to obtain the relevant number of votes, then in conformity with Article 72 of the Constitution the law which was returned to the National Assembly shall once again be adopted by the majority of votes of the total number of deputies and sent to the President of the republic, who shall, within a 5-day period, sign and publish it.
PROCEDURE FOR THE DEBATE OF THE DRAFTS OF THE CONSTITUTION OR THE LAW ON THE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OR THOSE TO BE ADOPTED BY REFERENDUM
Article 74. Presentation of the drafts of the constitution or the law on the amendments to the constitution or those to be adopted by referendum and holding a referendum
1. In conformity with Article 111 of the Constitution, the Constitution shall be adopted or amended by referendum upon the initiative of the President of the republic or the National Assembly.
2. The right to put forward a motion to the National Assembly on holding a referendum for the draft law belongs to the deputies and the Government.
3. Decisions of the National Assembly on putting forward a motion on holding a referendum for adopting or amending the Constitution shall be taken by the majority of votes of the total number of deputies.
4. The referendum for adopting the Constitution or the Law on the Amendments Thereto shall be held in conformity with the procedure stipulated in the Constitution and the legislation.
Article 75. Requirements to the constitution or the amendments thereto and the draft laws to be adopted by the referendum
1. The drafts of the constitution or the law on the amendments thereto shall include:
a) the justification of the adoption of the Constitution or the amendments thereto,
b) the draft of the Constitution or the amendments thereto,
c) the draft resolution of the National Assembly on the proposal or the agreement regarding the referendum for the adoption of the constitution or the amendments thereto.
2. The draft law for the referendum includes:
a) the justification for holding a referendum for the adoption of the law,
b) the draft law for referendum,
c) other drafts to be adopted in relation to the adoption of the law by referendum,
d) the subparagraph “d” is expired, (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
e) draft resolutions of the National Assembly on making a proposal or agreeing on the issue of referendum for the adoption of the law,
f) a proposal on adopting other relevant laws by referendum together with the main law or a notice on the absence of the need for such a proposal.
3. A notice shall be attached to the draft of the Constitution or the amendments thereto stating the amended article of the Constitution or the law.
Article 76. Procedure for the putting forward the drafts of the constitution or the amendments thereto for debate in the National Assembly
1. The initiative of the President of the republic on the adoption of the Constitution or amending the latter includes:
a) the documents listed in Article 75, paragraphs one and three of the present law,
b) the full name of the authorized representative of the President of the republic acting as the main speaker.
2. The proposal of the Government on putting a draft law to referendum shall be implemented by the decision of the Government and shall include:
a) the documents listed in Article 75, paragraphs 2 and 3 of the present law,
b) the full name of the Government representative acting as the main speaker,
c) if necessary, the conclusion of the Government on reducing the revenues and increasing expenditures of the state budget. (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
3. The draft of the Constitution or the Law on the Amendments Thereto or that of the law to be adopted by referendum is considered submitted to the National Assembly for discussion, if in conformity with the requirements of the present law is officially submitted to the President of the National Assembly.
4. The drafts of the Constitution or the law on the amendments to the latter as well as the drafts of laws to be adopted by referendum shall be circulated in the National Assembly in conformity with the procedure stipulated in Article 51 of the present law. The Government and the staff shall submit their conclusions on the draft of the Constitution or the amendments to the latter or else the draft of the laws to be adopted by referendum to the President of the National Assembly in a 30-day period, to the Head Committee in a 40-day period, however, no earlier than before the end of the period for receiving conclusions from the Government or the Staff.
Article 77. Procedure for the debate of the laws adopted by referendum and the drafts of the constitution or the law on the amendments thereto
1. The drafts of the laws to be adopted by the referendum as well as those of the Constitution or the amendments thereto put forward by a deputy shall be debated in the National Assembly in three readings in conformity with the procedure stipulated in chapter 8 of the present law with the following difference:
a. The President of the Republic or his/her authorized representative is entitled to make a supplementary report during the debate of the aforementioned drafts,
b. If stipulated in Article 72, paragraph 2 of the present law the author (the main speaker) can suggest that a decision be taken by the National Assembly on putting forward a proposal to the President of the Republic on holding a referendum for the adoption of the relevant draft,
c. If the decision of the National Assembly stipulated in paragraph 1, clause "b" of the present article is not adopted by voting then immediately after voting the author (the main speaker) shall be entitled to a 3-minute presentation and suggest that the debate of the relevant draft be by the decision of the National Assembly and be returned to the stage of submission of proposals envisioned in Article 66 of the present law.
d. If the decision of the National Assembly stated in paragraph 1, clause "b" of the present article is not adopted by voting and the author (the main speaker) has not made the proposal stated in paragraph 1, clause "c" of the present article or it was made but not accepted, the relevant draft is removed from the agendas of the series of sessions and the four-day sittings of the National Assembly.
2. The President of the National Assembly shall, within a seven-day period after the adoption, deliver the drafts of the Constitution or the amendment to the latter proposed by the National Assembly as well as the decision of the National Assembly on holding a referendum, together with the relevant drafts to the President of the Republic who, within a 21-day period after receiving them, shall fix the referendum or return the draft in question to the National Assembly with objections or recommendations demanding a new debate.
3. The draft of the Constitution or that of the amendments to the latter intended for referendum and returned with the objections or recommendations of the President of the republic shall be put to debate in the National Assembly in line with the procedure envisioned in Article 73 of the present law.
The draft of the Constitution or that of the amendments to the latter proposed again by at least two third of the total number of deputies of the National Assembly and intended for referendum shall be put to referendum by the President of the republic on the day fixed by the National Assembly.
Article 78. Procedure for the debate of the initiative of the President of the Republic with respect to the constitution or amendments to it
1. The Drafts of the Constitution or the amendments of the latter submitted to the National Assembly upon the initiative of the President of the Republic are debated in the National Assembly in compliance with the defined order stipulated in Article 55 of the present law, after receiving the draft within three months. (Added on 26.02.2007 LA - 111)
2. The representative of the President of the Republic shall deliver a speech. (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
3. In his/her final speech the representative of the President is entitled to amend the debated draft and propose:
a) to approve the proposal on referendum for the adoption of the draft as amended in line with the recommendations of the President of the republic by the decision of the National Assembly.
b) to postpone the debate at the stage of voting until the beginning of the next four-day sittings in order to finalize the debated draft in line with the proposals acceptable for the President of the republic, which means approved without debate.
4. If upon the recommendation of the representative of the President of the Republic the debate of the subject is postponed at the stage of voting, it is taken further by a 3-minute speech of the representative of the President, where he/she can suggest approve the proposal on the referendum for the adoption of the drafts debated and amended in line with the proposals acceptable by the President of the Republic.
5. The President of the National Assembly shall in a 7-day period send the decision of the National Assembly on approving the proposal on holding a referendum for the draft of the constitution or that of the amendments thereto to the President of the Republic.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF THE STATE BUDGET
Article 79. The schedule of presentation and discussions on the state budget
1. In accordance with Article 76 of the Constitution, the state budget, on presentation of the Government, shall be approved by the National Assembly. In case the budget is not approved by the beginning of the fiscal year, expenditures shall be made in accordance with the previous year’s proportions until the new budget is approved.
2. The Government shall submit the draft state budget for the consideration of the National Assembly at least ninety days before the beginning of the fiscal year and may request a vote on the draft, with the changes that have been approved by the Government incorporated in it, before the end of that time period (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
3. The President of the National Assembly, within two days after the receipt of the draft state budget, in consultation with the Prime Minister and after consideration of the issue at the National Assembly working group meeting, shall prepare the schedule of preliminary discussions of the draft budget at the standing committees and their joint meetings, of submission of amendments, and their approval by the Government, and, along with the draft, send it to deputies, factions, deputy groups, standing committees, and to the Control Chamber. The schedule shall also be sent to the Government (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
4. The discussions of the draft state budget at the session of the National Assembly shall begin no later than at the first three-day sittings of the December preceding the new fiscal year (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
Article 80. Preliminary discussions of the draft budget and procedure for its submission
1. Preliminary discussions of the draft budget shall take place at meetings of standing committees and their joint meetings, where the authorized representatives of the Prime Minister’s office shall also take part in accordance with established procedure.
2. Classified materials regarding expenditure items containing state and official secrets shall be discussed at closed-door joint meetings of standing committees on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs, and Finance, Credit, Budgetary Affairs, where deputies, the Chair of the Control Chamber and authorized representatives of the Prime Minister’s office can participate.
3. Deputies, factions, deputy groups and standing committees shall present their proposals for changes to the draft budget to the Government through the National Assembly staff, as well as on a floppy disk or via electronic mail. On the basis of the results of preliminary discussions in standing committees, the Government can make changes in the draft budget within a specified time period.
4. The Government shall present the revised version of the draft budget for the consideration of the National Assembly with an attached protocol with the proposals grouped in accordance with the sequence of budget articles. The protocol shall also indicate the following, in the stated order:
a) the author of the proposal;
b) the number of the article to which the proposal pertains;
c) the text or content of the proposal;
d) the opinion of the Government on the proposal.
5. The proposals which have received a positive opinion of the Government shall be included in the draft budget.
Article 81. Procedure for discussions on the draft budget law
1. In presenting the draft budget law, three people can speak in the name of the Government at the meeting of the National Assembly, for up to 90 minutes altogether. The speakers also present the changes that have been made in the draft as a result of the preliminary discussions.
2. For 30-minute supplementary reports, the podium is provided to the following:
a) the Chairman of the Central Bank, presenting the conclusion of the Central Bank of the draft law on the Budget (Amended on 24.12.2004 LA-69);
b) representative of the Standing Committee on Finance, Credit, Budgetary Affairs – to present the opinion of the committee on the draft budget law;
c) representative of the Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs – to present the opinion of the committee on the legality and propriety of expenditures with regard to budget articles containing state and official secrets;
d) one representative from each of the other standing committees, at their own request – to present the opinion of the relevant committee on the draft budget law.
3. The deputies ask the speakers questions in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 57 of this Law, which is followed by exchange of opinions.
Article 82. Procedure for exchange of opinions during the discussions on the draft budget law
1. Exchange of opinions shall take place in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 58 of this Law, with the following exceptions:
a) speeches shall be limited to 10 minutes;
b) before the podium is given to factions and deputy groups, members of the Government, Yerevan Mayor and Heads of Marzes are entitled to 7 extraordinary speeches, on presentation by the Prime Minister.
2. Exchange of opinions shall end with a 30-minute concluding speech of the Prime Minister or the head of the authorized financial body, after which only the President of the Republic of Armenia is entitled to an extraordinary speech.
3. After exchange of opinions is over, the chair of the session shall declare recess for at least 4 days.
Article 83. Procedure for submission of proposals on the draft budget
Within 24 hours after recess is declared, the proposals of deputies, factions and deputy groups, and the proposals and opinions of standing committees shall be submitted officially, as well as on a floppy disk or via electronic mail, to the Staff, who, within one hour after the deadline for submission is over, sends them to the Government.
Article 84. Resumption of discussions on the draft budget law
1. At least 24 hours before the resumption of the discussions, the Government shall submit to the National Assembly staff the final version of the draft budget and the protocol prepared in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 80, paragraph 4 of this Law, in as many copies as corresponds to the number of deputies. The Staff shall ensure that the copies are distributed to the deputies at the residence of the National Assembly.
2. After the discussions on the draft Budget Law are resumed, the Prime Minister or the head of the authorized financial body shall present the final version of the draft and the proposals included in the protocol in a report up to 1 hour long.
3. Deputies shall ask the speakers questions in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 57 of this Law.
4. Provided requests have been submitted, the right for a 10-minute speech is given to:
a) representatives of factions and deputy groups;
b) representatives of standing committees;
c) the President of the National Assembly, his/her Deputy Chairs.
5. After the speeches, the Prime Minister or the head of the authorized financial body shall deliver a 30-minute concluding speech, in which he/she can propose to adopt the final version of the draft budget law as a law or raise the issue of a vote of confidence in connection with the approval of the budget.
6. If the proposal of the government to adopt the final version of the draft budget law does not receive the number of votes required for its approval, the Government can raise the issue of a vote of confidence in connection with the approval of the budget in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 60, paragraph 3 of this Law.
7. If no draft resolution on a vote of "no confidence" is presented in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 107 of this Law or if such resolution is not adopted, then the budget with the changes adopted by the government is assumed to have been approved.
8. There is a special procedure for the discussions of the draft law on making amendments and changes to the Budget Law by the National Assembly.
Article 85. The procedure and time schedule for the second presentation of the draft budget
In accordance with Article 90 of the Constitution, in case there is a vote of "no confidence" in the Government by the National Assembly in connection with the approval of the budget, the new Government shall submit a draft budget to the National Assembly within 10 days after the approval of its program. The draft budget shall be voted upon and approved in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Chapter 10 of this Law within 30 days (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
Article 86. The oversight of budget execution
1. (The 1st paragraph is expired, amended on 25.12.2006 LA-12)
2. Within 40 days after the end of each quarter, the Government shall submit a report on the execution of the budget to the National Assembly.
3. Prior to the approval of the budget for the next fiscal year at the meeting of the National Assembly, the National Assembly shall consider the report on the execution of the budget of the year preceding the current year.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF THE ANNUAL STATE BUDGET EXECUTION REPORT
Article 87. The schedule of presentation and approval of the annual report
1. The National Assembly, being submitted the opinion of the Control Chamber, shall consider and approve the Annual Budget Execution Report on the second Wednesday of the year following the year accounted for.
2. The government shall submit the annual budget execution report for each year to the National Assembly by the 1st of May of the following year.
3. The President of the National Assembly, within two days after receipt of the annual budget execution report, in consultation with the Prime Minister and after consideration of the issue at the National Assembly working group meeting, shall prepare the schedule of preliminary discussions of the annual budget execution report at the standing committees and, along with the submitted report, send it to the deputies, factions, deputy groups, standing committees, the Government, and the Control Chamber.
Article 88. Preliminary discussions of the annual report
1. Preliminary discussions of the annual budget execution report shall take place in standing committees, where members of the Government and authorized representatives of the Prime Minister’s office shall also take part in accordance with established procedure.
2. Classified materials regarding expenditure items containing state and official secrets shall be discussed at closed-door joint meetings of standing committees on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs, and Finance, Credit, Budgetary Affairs, where deputies, the Chair of the Control Chamber and authorized representatives of the Prime Minister’s office can participate.
Article 89. Discussions on the annual report
1. In presenting the annual budget execution report, three people can speak in the name of the Government at the session of the National Assembly for up to 90 minutes altogether.
2. For 30-minute supplementary reports, the podium shall be provided to the following:
a) the Chairman of the Central Bank – to present the conclusion of the Central Bank on the report (Amended on 24.12.2004 LA-69);
b) Chair of the Control Chamber – to present the conclusion of the Control Chamber on the report;
c) representative of the Standing Committee on Finance, Credit, Budgetary Affairs – to present the conclusion of the committee on the report;
d) representative of the Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and internal Affairs – to present the opinion of the committee on the legality and propriety of those expenditures included in the annual budget execution report that contain state and official secrets;
e) one representative from each of the other standing committees, at their own request – to present the opinion of the relevant committee on the report.
3. The deputies shall ask the speakers questions in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 57 of this Law, which is followed by exchange of opinions in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 58 of this Law.
4. Before the podium is given to factions and deputy groups, members of the Government, Yerevan Mayor and Heads of Marzes are entitled to 7 extraordinary speeches, on presentation by the Prime Minister.
5. After the exchange of opinions is over, the Prime Minister or the head of the authorized financial body shall present a 30-minute concluding speech, in which he/she can:
a) put the draft resolution of the National Assembly on approving the annual budget execution report to the vote;
b) raise the issue of a vote of confidence in connection with the approval of the annual budget execution report.
6. If the proposal of the government to adopt the final version of the annual budget execution report does not receive the number of votes required for its approval, the Government can call for a vote of confidence in connection with the approval of the annual budget execution report in accordance with the procedure stipulated by paragraph 3 of Article 60 of this Law.
7. If no draft resolution on a vote of "no confidence" is presented in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 107 of this Law or if such resolution is not adopted, then the presented report is assumed to have been approved.
8. If the National Assembly expresses ‘no confidence’ in the Government in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 107 of this Law, the execution report is assumed to have been approved.
PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF ISSUES THAT ARE IN THE JURISDICTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
Article 90. Procedure for the consideration of the President’s proposal to announce amnesty
1. The President of the Republic of Armenia sends his/her proposal to the President of the National Assembly to announce amnesty.
2. The President of the National Assembly, within 24 hours after receipt of the proposal of the President of the Republic of Armenia to announce amnesty, shall send it to the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs and to the Government, and include it in the schedule of the forthcoming four-day sittings of the National Assembly.
3. The proposal of the President of the Republic of Armenia to announce amnesty shall be considered at the closed-door meeting of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Issues, where deputies and authorized representatives of the President of the Republic of Armenia and the Prime Minister’s office can participate.
4. The proposal of the President of the Republic of Armenia to announce amnesty shall be considered at the session of the National Assembly as a priority issue in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 55 of this Law. The representative of the President of Armenia shall deliver the principal speech, and the representative of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs shall deliver the supplementary speech. During the exchange of opinions deputies can make proposals only with regard to the proposals of the President of the Republic of Armenia.
5. In his/her concluding speech the representative of the President of the Republic of Armenia can withdraw the proposals of the President of the Republic of Armenia to announce amnesty, or make changes to it, or propose to:
a) adopt the resolution of the National Assembly prepared on the basis of the proposals acceptable to the President of the Republic of Armenia;
b) postpone the discussion of the issue at the stage of voting until the beginning of the next three-day sittings with the view of finalizing the draft resolution taking into consideration the proposals acceptable to the President of the Republic of Armenia, which is considered approved without voting.
6. If the discussion of the issue is postponed at the stage of voting at the request of the representative of the President of the Republic of Armenia, it shall be resumed by a 10-minute speech of the President of the Republic of Armenia, in which he/she may propose to adopt the resolution of the National Assembly prepared on the basis of the proposals acceptable to the President of the Republic of Armenia.
7. The resolution of the National Assembly to announce amnesty shall be signed and published by the President of the National Assembly within 24 hours, unless another date is specified by the resolution.
Article 91. Procedure for the discussion of the proposal of the President of Armenia to declare war and establish peace (Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
1. The proposal of the President of the Republic of Armenia to declare war and establish peace shall be discussed at a special sitting of the National Assembly in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 55 of this Law, with the following differences: (Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
a) the principal speech is delivered by the President of the Republic of Armenia or his/her representative, and the supplementary speeches are delivered by representatives of standing committees, one from each committee;
b) one representative only from each faction and parliamentary group shall take part in exchange of opinions; (Amended 24.12.2004).
c) only the President of the Republic of Armenia or his/her representative shall deliver a concluding speech.
2. The resolution of the National Assembly to declare war and establish peace shall be signed and published by the President of the National Assembly immediately, unless another date is specified by the resolution.
Article 92. Procedure for consideration of the issue of canceling the arrangements stipulated by paragraphs 13 and 14 of article 55 of the Constitution
1. In accordance with paragraph 13 of Article 55 of the Constitution, the President of the Republic of Armenia declares a state of martial law and can announce a full or partial mobilization and issues a decree on using military forces in situations of an armed attack on the Republic, an immediate danger of such or a declaration of war (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
2. In accordance with paragraph 14 of Article 55 of the Constitution, in a situation of an immediate threat to the constitutional order, the President of the Republic of Armenia, in consultation with the President of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister, declares an emergency situation, arranges measures called for by the situation and addresses the nation with regard to them (Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
3. In accordance with the final part of Article 81 of the Constitution, the National Assembly, can declare invalid the implementation of arrangements stipulated by paragraphs 13 and 14 of Article 55 of the Constitution (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
4. The implementation of the arrangements on declaring invalid stipulated by paragraphs 13 and 14 of Article 55 of the Constitution the draft resolution of the National Assembly is submitted to the National Assembly and put into circulation stipulated by the Article 52 of this Law, and it is discussed and adopted stipulated by the Article 55 of this Law (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
5. (the 5th paragraph is expired, amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
6. (the 6th paragraph is expired, amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
7. The resolution of the National Assembly on announcing invalid the implementation the arrangements stipulated by paragraphs 13 and 14 of Article 55 of the Constitution shall be signed and published by the President of the National Assembly immediately, unless another date is specified by the resolution. (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
8. (the 8th paragraph is expired, amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
Article 93. Procedure of the resolutions for ratification, suspension or announcing invalid of international agreements
1. An international agreement shall be submitted for ratification by the National Assembly assuming that it or the responsibilities stipulated by it according to a verdict of the Constitutional Court do not conflict with the Constitution.
2. The range of international agreements that are subject to ratification by the National Assembly is specified by the Constitution and by law (Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
3. If the international agreement submitted for ratification by the National Assembly stipulates amendments to the laws of the Republic of Armenia or adoption of a new law, then the Government shall attach to the agreement a certificate.
If the international agreement submitted for ratification defines norms contradicting the laws of the Republic of Armenia, then the Government attaches to the agreement a certificate on the necessity or expediency of making amendments to the laws of the Republic of Armenia (Amended on 22.02.2007 LA-124).
4. The draft resolution on ratifying international agreements, suspending shall be considered in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 55 of this Law. The principal report is delivered by the representative of the President of the Republic of Armenia (Amended and added on 26.02.2007 LA-111), (Amended on 22.02.2007 LA-124).
5. An international agreement may also be presented for ratification with reservations specified by the principal reporter.
6. The procedure is spread on making resolution on also joining the Republic of Armenia to international agreements with this Law (Amended on 22.02.2007 LA-124).
7. If a resolution is adopted for ratification of the international agreements and, in accordance with the certificate (certificates) of the Government, it stems from appropriate agreement that a new law shall be adopted or amendments shall be made to the functioning Law, then the Government shall submit for the consideration of the National Assembly the draft law (draft laws) on making amendments to the appropriate law or adopting a new law within the time limit stipulated by the law of the Republic of Armenia on the international agreements of the Republic of Armenia.
8. The draft resolution on announcing invalid the international agreement ratified by the National Assembly or the international agreement, which the National Assembly made a resolution to join, shall be submitted to the National Assembly by the Government with the substantiating certificate declaring invalid.
The rules of the paragraph of this Article shall be applied towards the submission and discussions of the draft resolution on declaring invalid the international agreement (Added on 22.02.2007 LA-124).
Article 94. Procedure for submitting and accepting the resignation of the President of the Republic of Armenia
The President of the Republic of Armenia shall submit his/her resignation to the National Assembly. After submitting the resignation, in completion of ten days, during two days in case of submitting the resignation again the resignation of the President of the Republic of Armenia is considered accepted.
The President of the National Assembly shall deliver his official message (information) on the submission and adoption of the resignation of the President of the Republic.
Article 95. Procedure for consideration of the resolution on the impeachment of the President of the Republic of Armenia
1. The draft resolution to impeach the President of the Republic of Armenia shall be discussed in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 55 of this Law. The President of the Republic of Armenia or his/her representative and also the representative of the Head Committee may deliver a supplementary speech. (Amended on 03.07.2002 LA-404).
2. On the proposal of the author (the main speaker) made in his/her concluding speech, with the view of receiving a conclusion on the issue of impeaching the President of the Republic of Armenia by a resolution voted on and adopted by a majority vote from the total number of deputies, the National Assembly shall apply to the Constitutional Court, and the discussion of the issue shall be interrupted until the verdict of the Constitutional Court is received (Amended on 03.07.2002 LA-404).
3. On the basis of the conclusion made by the Constitutional Court, the National Assembly in accordance with Article 55 of this Law shall discuss the draft resolution on the impeachment the President of the Republic of Armenia, which shall be adopted by secret ballot at minimum two thirds of votes from the total number of deputies (Amended on 03.07.2002 LA-404).
4. If according to the verdict of the Constitutional Court there are no grounds for the impeachment of the President of the Republic of Armenia, or the resolution of the National Assembly is not adopted in accordance with the procedure stipulated by paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, the issue shall be withdrawn from consideration.
5. The resolution of the National Assembly on the Impeachment of the President of the Republic of Armenia shall be signed and published by the President of the National Assembly immediately, unless another date is specified by the resolution.
Article 96. Procedure for consideration of the resolution on the impossibility of execution of his/her authorities by the President of the Republic of Armenia
1. In accordance with Article 59 of the Constitution, in the case of a serious illness of the President of the Republic of Armenia or other insurmountable obstacles for the execution of his/her authorities, which continuously make impossible the execution of his/her authorities, on the basis of the verdict of the Constitutional Court, the Government shall submit a proposal on the impossibility of execution of his/her authorities by the President of the Republic of Armenia to the National Assembly. (Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
2. The discussion of the issue shall begin with up to a 20-minute report by the representative of the Government, after which one representative from each faction and deputy group may deliver up to a 10-minute speech. The resolution shall be adopted by at least two thirds of the votes from the total number of deputies (Amended on 03.07.2002 LA-404).
3. The resolution indicated in paragraph 2 of this Article is not adopted then the issue shall be withdrawn from consideration (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
4. The resolution of the National Assembly on the impossibility of performance of his/her duties by the President of the Republic of Armenia shall be signed and published by the President of the National Assembly immediately, unless another date is specified by the resolution.
PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF ISSUES RESERVED TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Article 97. Consideration of issues regarding election, appointment to a post, resignation of an official and pre-term cessation of authorities or dismissal of his/her post (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
1. A candidate shall be nominated for a post, as well as a proposal to appoint him/her to a post shall be presented by a body or an official authorized by the Constitution and law.
In accordance with the paragraph 4 of the Article 83 and 832 of the Constitution, the right of proposing the candidates for the election in the post shall belong to the factions and parliamentary groups. In accordance with the Article 831 of the Constitution, the right of the candidates’ proposal in the post of the Human Rights Defender shall belong to at least one fifth of the total number of the deputies (Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
2. Issues regarding election or appointment to a post shall be considered by the National Assembly in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 55 of this Law, with the following differences:
a) the time limit for nominating candidates for or proposing to appoint someone to a post is 10 minutes;
b) the principal speech shall be delivered by the proposed candidate;
c) the proposed candidate can state refusal to accept his/her nomination or post before the end of the concluding speech.
3. One candidate shall be proposed to be appointed to each of the posts stipulated in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 83 and Articles 833, 83 4 and 103 of the Constitution.
4. If more than two candidates have been nominated to be elected to a post and none of them has received the required number of votes, then there shall be a second poll in which the two candidates who have received maximum votes shall participate.
5. If two candidates have participated in the poll and neither of them has been elected, there shall be a new poll, for which new candidates may be nominated.
6. An official who has been elected or appointed by the National Assembly can submit a written application regarding his/her resignation to the President of the National Assembly, which shall be published by the chair of the session at the forthcoming 3-day sittings. If within 3 days after publishing the resignation the person, via written application:
a) takes back the application regarding his/her resignation, then the chair of the session notifies this to the National Assembly;
b) does not take back the application regarding his/her resignation, then his/her resignation is considered accepted.
7. A draft resolution on pre-term cessation (dismissal) of the authorities of an official who has been elected or appointed by the National Assembly can be submitted by bodies or officials indicated in paragraph 1 of this Article. The draft resolution shall be discussed in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 55 of this Law. The person indicated in the draft resolution shall deliver a supplementary speech (Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
8. The resolutions of the National Assembly regarding election and appointment to a post by the National Assembly, as well as accepting the resignation and pre-term cessation (dismissal) of authorities of an official, shall be adopted by secret vote (Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
Article 98. Procedure for giving consent for bringing charges to arrest, involve as a defendant, take into custody a deputy and judicially institute administrative or criminal proceedings against him/her (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
1. The petition to give consent for bringing charges to arrest, to involve as a defendant, to take a deputy into custody and judicially institute administrative or criminal proceedings against him/her shall be submitted by the Prosecutor General to the President of the National Assembly, who shall immediately notify this to the deputy and ensure that the petition is distributed to the deputies at the quarters of the National Assembly (Amended and added on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
2. The petition shall be discussed by the National Assembly in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 55 of this Law, with the following differences:
a) the Prosecutor General and the deputy indicated in the petition shall deliver an up to 20-minute speeches and can be asked questions;
b) only deputies can participate in the exchange of opinions;
c) the deputy indicated in the petition and the Attorney General shall deliver up to 20-minute concluding speeches.
3. If the deputy indicated in the petition is not present at the session (has not registered in accordance with established procedure) when the consideration of the issue begins, and he/she has not notified the President of the National Assembly of the reason for his/her absence in advance, or he/she has notified the Chair, but the latter has not considered it a valid reason, then the issue shall be discussed by the National Assembly without the deputy’s presence.
4. The resolutions of the National Assembly for bringing charges to arrest, to involve as a defendant, to take a deputy into custody and judicially institute administrative or criminal proceedings against him/her shall be voted on by secret ballot and adopted by a majority vote from the number of deputies who voted, if more than half of the total number of the deputies have voted (Amended and added on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
Article 99. Procedure for the cessation of authorities of a deputy for absences during voting at a session
1. The deputies’ participation in voting shall be registered by the Staff.
2. The Staff, during the first week of each month, gives the deputies a protocol with the number of polls from which they were absent during the previous month or session.
3. The reason for a deputy’s absence during voting is considered valid, if
a) within 3 days after he/she recovers from the illness, he/she shall submit a medical certificate to the chair of the standing committee or to the Head of Staff;
b) within three days after the voting takes place, officially shall notify the reason for his/her absence to the President of the National Assembly and the latter considers it a valid reason;
c) within 30 days after the end of the session, he notified the reason for his/her absence to the Standing committee on State and Legal Affairs, and the latter considers it a valid reason;
d) before a vote at the meeting of the National Assembly, he/she declared that he/she refused to participate in the particular vote.
e) before a vote the head or the secretary of the faction or parliamentary group declared at the sitting of the National Assembly that all members registered at the meeting of the faction or the group refused to participate in the vote (Added on 24.12.2004 LA-69).
31 . In accordance with the “e” subparagraph of the paragraph 3 of this Article the refusal of the faction or the parliamentary group from participating in voting shall be considered valid only in one session of the National Assembly of the present convocation (Added on 24.12.2004 LA-69).
4. The Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, at the first 4-day sittings of a regular session, shall present for discussion its opinion and a draft resolution of the National Assembly on considering the reasons for a deputy’s absences during more than half of votes at the one regular session as non-valid (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
5. The deputy shall be notified that the issue of his/her absences is to be discussed at the meeting of the National Assembly a minimum of 7 days in advance. If the deputy is absent, the consideration of the issue shall be postponed twice for two weeks each time, after which it shall be considered at the next 4-day sittings regardless of his/her presence (Added on 24.12.2004).
6. The draft resolution on absenteeism of each deputy shall be considered separately in accordance with procedure stipulated by Article 55 of this Law. During discussions, the deputy, or another deputy authorized by him/her, can speak at the podium, answer questions and have a 10-minute concluding speech.
7. The resolution of the National Assembly to consider the reasons for a deputy’s absences during more than half of the votes in the course of one regular session non-valid shall be voted on by secret ballot and adopted by a majority vote from the number of deputies who participated at the session, if more than half of the total number of the deputies have voted (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
8. On the basis of the above resolution, a protocol on cessation of the deputy’s authority is prepared and signed by the President of the National Assembly, and sent to the Central Election Committee within a period of five days.
Article 100. Presentation and consideration of the annual policy plan of the control chamber
1. The draft annual policy plan of the Control Chamber shall be presented for the consideration of the National Assembly a minimum of 60 days before the beginning of the fiscal year.
2. The consideration of the draft annual policy plan of the Control Chamber at the meeting of the National Assembly shall begin no later than at the first three-day sittings of the December preceding the new fiscal year.
3. The draft annual policy plan of the Control Chamber presented for consideration at the meeting of the National Assembly shall be accompanied by a protocol with the proposals on changes or amendments to it that were submitted by deputies during preliminary discussions. The protocol shall consist of the following columns:
a) the author of the proposal;
b) the text or the contents of the proposal;
c) the opinion of the Council of the Control Chamber on the proposal.
4. The draft annual policy plan of the Control Chamber shall be discussed at the meeting of the National Assembly in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 55 of this Law.
5. The principal report shall be delivered by the Chair of the Control Chamber, and the supplementary speeches shall be delivered by the representative of the Standing Committee on Finance, Credit and Budget Affairs.
6. If the National Assembly does not approve the draft annual policy plan of the Control Chamber, the proposals included in the protocol shall be voted on one by one, without discussion.
7. On the basis of the approved proposals, the draft annual policy plan of the Control Chamber is devised.
8. Amendments and addenda to the draft annual policy plan of the Control Chamber shall not be made (Amended on 25.12.2006 LA-12).
Article 101. Consideration of the Report of the Oversight Works Results of the Control Chamber
1. The report of the oversight works results of the Control Chamber shall be presented to the National Assembly for its consideration no later than three months after the end of the fiscal year and shall be considered by the National Assembly before the end of the given regular session (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA - 111).
2. The report of the oversight works results the Control Chamber shall be considered by the National Assembly in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 55 of this Law and completed with concluding speeches without adopting any document (Added on 25.12.2006 LA-12) (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
3. During the discussions, the principal speech shall be delivered by the Chair of the Control Chamber, and the supplementary speeches shall be delivered by the representative of the Standing Committee on Finance, Credit and Budget Affairs.
4. During the discussions on the report of oversight works results of the Control Chamber, the Government is entitled to one supplementary report and two extraordinary speeches (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
5. (The 5th paragraph was expired, amended on 25.12.2006 LA-12)
6. (The 6th paragraph was expired, amended on 25.12.2006 LA-12)
Article 102. Presentation of the monetary and credit policy plan of the Central Bank
1. After sending the monetary and credit policy plans stipulated by the law of the Republic of Armenia on the Central Bank of Armenia of the Republic of Armenia being presented to the National Assembly by the Central Bank within one month shall be presented to the regular session of the National Assembly.
2. Within two days after receiving the monetary and credit policy plan of the Central Bank, the President of the National Assembly shall send it to the standing committees of the National Assembly and the Government.
3. In order to present the monetary and credit policy plan of the Central Bank at the meeting of the National Assembly, the Chairman of the Central Bank is allowed up to 40 minutes.
4. Representatives of the Government and the Standing Committee on Finance, Credit and Budget Affairs shall each deliver up to a 20-minute supplementary speech.
5. The discussions on the monetary and credit policy plan of the Central Bank shall be regulated by Article 55 of this Law and shall end with the concluding speeches of the representative of the Standing Committee on Finance, Credit and Budget Affairs and the Chairman of the Central Bank, without adopting any document.
(Amended on 25.12.2006 LA-38).
Article 103. Presentation of the reports of the Central Bank
1. The reports stipulated by the law of the Republic of Armenia on the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia being presented to the National Assembly by the Central Bank, after the day of sending to the National Assembly within one month, shall be presented at the regular session of the National Assembly.
2. The President of the National Assembly shall, within 2 days after receiving the report of the Central Bank, send it to the standing committees, the Government and during April-May send the submitted report – also to the Control Chamber.
3. In order to present the report of the Central Bank at the sitting of the National Assembly, the Chairman of the Central Bank is allowed up to 40 minutes.
4. Up to a 20-minute supplementary speech is delivered by:
a) the representative of the Standing Committee on Finance, Credit and Budget Affairs - to present the opinion of the committee on the report of the Central Bank;
c) the representative of the Government – to present the opinion of the Government on the report.
In order to present the opinion of the Control Chamber on the annual financial report of the previous year of the Central Bank enclosed to the report sent during April-May until the Chairman of the Control Chamber also delivers 20-minute supplementary speech.
5. The discussions on the reports of the Central Bank shall be carried out by Article 55 of this Law and shall end with concluding speeches, without adopting any document.
(Amended on 25.12.2006 LA-38).
Article 104. Procedure for consideration of reports, projects and information
1. In cases stipulated by law, reports, projects and information shall be considered at the meeting of the National Assembly by a special procedure, in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 59 of this Law, unless otherwise specified in this Law.
2. In cases stipulated by law, the reports to be approved as a law shall be considered by the National Assembly in two readings, and the projects shall be considered in one reading.
Article 1041 .Procedure for adopting addresses and announcements
1. In accordance with the Article 62 of the Constitution the National Assembly can adopt addresses and announcements.
2. The address or the announcement is the expression of the position of the National Assembly on certain issues, events and facts.
3. The draft of the address or the announcement of the National Assembly shall be submitted to the National Assembly and shall be in circulated for the resolutions of the National Assembly in accordance with the Articles 48 and 52 of this Law.
4. The draft of the address or the announcement presented by the National Assembly without voting shall be included in the agendas of the regular session and upcoming four-day sittings and shall be discussed at special sitting.
5. The address or announcement of the National Assembly shall be discussed and adopted in accordance with the Articles 55 and 60.
(Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
PROCEDURE FOR DISCUSSION OF ISSUES RELATED TO THE GOVERNMENT
Article 105. Procedure for addressing questions to the Government
1. In accordance with Article 80 of the Constitution, deputies shall have the right to address questions in written or verbal form to the Government. (Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
2. A deputy can ask the Government one written and one oral question in a month.
3. At the last meeting of the Wednesday during the 3-day sittings of the regular sessions, the Prime Minister and members of the Government answer the questions of deputies.
4. A written question shall be submitted by the deputy to the Staff, which shall send it to the Government on the same day. Within two weeks after receiving the question, the Prime Minister or, on his assignment, the relevant member of the Government shall answer the question at the meeting of the National Assembly, having notified this to the deputy and the Staff in advance. The deputy shall receive the answer to his/her question in writing.
5. The answers to written questions shall be given in the order in which they were received, as soon as the answer is ready, unless the deputy refuses to air his/her question.
6. A deputy shall present his/her written question addressed to the Government with the microphone within three minutes, which shall be followed by the 3-minute answer of the Prime Minister or a member of the Government. The deputy may express his/her opinion of the answer within 2 minutes, to which the Prime Minister or a member of the Government may respond within two minutes. (Amended on 03.07.2002 LA-404)
7. If the time limit of the meeting is not over after the answers to the written questions have been given, the deputies may, in accordance with the procedures stipulated by paragraph 6 of this Article and Article 57 of this Law, address the Government with oral questions, each of which shall relate to a sphere which is in the competence of one member of the Government.
8. The procedure stipulated by this Article does not limit the right of a deputy to immediately address the Government in writing and receive an answer in accordance with procedure established by law.
Article1051 . Order of applying with the interpellations, organizing debate and making decision concerning them
1. The interpellation, which is in the jurisdiction of the Government upon the definite question, is the written inquiry, addressed to the Government by the faction or the deputy group, which can be debated at the National Assembly and upon which the National Assembly can make a decision.
The faction or the deputy group during the same session can address with the interpellation to the Government no more than once, except those interpellations, which the faction or the deputy group has refused to discuss.
2. The faction or the deputy group shall submit the interpellation to the Staff, which it sends to the Government at the same day. The certificates, conclusions, other informational and analytic materials relate to the interpellation can be submitted attached with it.
3. After getting the interpellation the Government shall reply in a written form within 20 days to the faction or the deputy group, who is the author of the interpellation. The interpellations according to the sequence of their answer receipts are included in the agenda of the upcoming four-day sittings if the faction or the deputy group who is the author of the interpellation doesn’t refuse to debate its interpellation. The interpellations included in the agenda are debated during the second sitting of each Wednesday of the four-day sittings of the regular session. The sequence of the discussion of the interpellations is decided according to the quantity of the factions and deputy groups – from little to big.
4. The discussion of the interpellations shall begin with 5 minutes duration speech between the representative of the author faction or deputy group of the interpellation and the Prime Minister or, according to his instructions, the appropriate member of the head of the state government body subject to the Government, after which they can take a floor with 10 minutes duration speech.
5. The representative of the author faction or deputy group of the interpellation can propose in his/her final speech to authorized state government bodies and officials to make decisions about the submission of the proposals, which is put to a vote at the end of the authorized interpellation.
6. If the decision of the National Assembly, envisioned by paragraph 5 of the present article, does not receive enough votes for the adoption in the result of voting or such a proposal is not made, the faction or the deputy group can again address the same interpellation to the Government four months later.
7. The President of the National Assembly shall sign the decision of the National Assembly on presenting proposals about the interpellation by the authorized state government bodies and officials and shall send it to the appropriate body and (or) to the official during 24 hours who send they answers in the written form to the President of the National Assembly before the beginning of the upcoming four-day sittings if other term isn’t stipulated by the decision of the National Assembly.
The written answers according to the sequence of their recipt shall be sounded at the beginning of the first Wednesday sitting of the four-day sittings of the regular session.
8. The interpellations and their answers are published in Hayastani Hanrapetutyun (Republic of Armenia) daily. (Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
Article 106. Presentation of the plan of the Government
1. The Government, within 20 days from the date of forming the cabinet, shall present its plan to the National Assembly.
2. The issue of the approval of the plan of the Government shall be discussed at the special sitting within 48 hours after the receipt of the plan of the Government.
3. The Prime Minister shall have up to one hour to present the plan of the Government.
4. The Prime Minister shall be asked questions on the presented plan in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 57 of the present Law, after which the exchange of ideas shall take place stipulated by Article 58 of the present Law. The Prime Minister can deliver the concluding speech within an hour after the exchange of ideas.
5. The issue of the approval of the plan of the Government shall be put to a vote by the National Assembly after its submission within five days.
The decision of the National Assembly on the approval of the plan of the Government shall be adopted by the majority of the total number of the deputies’ votes.
6. In the case if the National Assembly does not approve the plan of the Government the Prime Minister shall apply to the President of the Republic on the resignation of the Government.
(Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
Article 107. Procedure for the consideration of the draft resolution on giving the Government a vote of "no confidence"
1. A draft resolution of the National Assembly on giving the Government a vote of "no confidence" can be presented by:
a) at least one third of the total number of the deputies in cases stipulated by paragraph 3 of Article 60, paragraph 6 of Articles 84 and 89, and paragraph of the present Law, within 24 hours after the issue of giving the Government a vote of confidence is raised; (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111)
a1 ) at least one third of the total number of the deputies (Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
b) the President of the Republic (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
11 A draft resolution of the National Assembly on giving the Government a vote of "no confidence" cannot be presented in the defense emergency (Added 26.02.2007 LA-111).
2. The initiative indicated in clause a) or a1) of paragraph 1 of the present Article shall be performed by signing the form received from the Staff and submitting it to the President of the National Assembly. The form, submitted to the President of the National Assembly, is not subject to any changes. If the form is not submitted to the President of National Assembly within 24 hours, it is considered invalid. If the form is submitted to the President of the National Assembly within the specified time period and bears the required number of signatures, then:
a) in the cases indicated in the a) subparagraph of paragraph 1 of the present Article the National Assembly shall begin the consideration of the draft resolution on giving the Government a vote of "no confidence" within 24 hours;
b) in the cases indicated in the a) subparagraph of paragraph 1 of the present Article the consideration of the draft resolution on giving the Government a vote of "no confidence" is included into the agendas of the regular session and four-day sittings without voting and discussed in the special session (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
3. The draft resolution on giving the Government a vote of "no confidence" shall be discussed in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 55 of the present Law, with the following differences:
a) the President of the Republic or the representative of the deputies who initiated the issue shall deliver up to a 30-minute speech, after which a supplementary speech of the same duration shall be delivered by the Prime Minister (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111);
b) the President or the representative of the deputies who initiated the issue and the Prime Minister shall deliver up to a 30-minute concluding speech, after which only the President of the Republic of Armenia is entitled to a speech (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
4. the issue of giving the Government a vote of "no confidence" shall be put to a vote no sooner than within 48 hours but no later than within 72 hours after it was presented (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
5. The resolution on giving the Government a vote of "no confidence" shall be adopted by the majority of the total number of the deputies’ votes (Amended on 03.07.2002 LA-404).
6. In case the above resolution is adopted, the Prime Minister shall submit an application for the resignation of the Government to the President of the Republic of Armenia.
Article 108. Definition of the administrative and territorial division of the Republic of Armenia (Amended 26.02.2007 LA-111)
1. In accordance with Article 82 of the Constitution, the National Assembly shall, on the proposal of the Government, define the administrative and territorial division of the Republic of Armenia (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
2. The draft Law on the Administrative and Territorial Division of the Republic of Armenia presented by the Government shall be proposed, circulated and included in the agenda of the three-day sittings of the regular session at the National Assembly in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Articles 50, 51 and 54 of the present Law.
3. The draft Law on the Administrative and Territorial Division of the Republic of Armenia shall be discussed by the National Assembly in three readings in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Chapter 8 of the present Law.
Article 109. The Government report on the execution of the current year’s plan for privatization of State property
1. The Government shall present the Report on the Execution of the Current Year’s Plan for Privatization of State Property to the National Assembly by the 1st of May of the following year.
2. The President of the National Assembly, within two days after receiving the above report, shall send it to the standing committees and the Control Chamber.
3. The representative of the Government shall be allowed up to 40 minutes to present the report at the meeting of the National Assembly.
4. Up to a 20-minute supplementary speech shall be delivered by:
a) the Chair of the Control Chamber – to present the opinion of the Control Chamber on the report;
b) the representative of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs – to present the opinion of the committee on the report (Amended on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
5. The report shall be discussed by the National Assembly in accordance with the procedure stipulated by 55 Article and paragraph 2 of 104 Article of the present Law (Amended on 03.07.2002).
ORGANIZATION OF THE WORK OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Article 110. The working consultation of the National Assembly
1. The draft agendas of a regular session and four-day sittings, as well as the issues stipulated by paragraph 2 of Article 18, paragraph 3 of Article 79, paragraph 3 of Article 87, paragraph 4 of Article 112 and paragraph 2 of Article 113of the present law are discussed in advance at the working consultations which, as a rule, summon at 5:30p.m. on Fridays. The meetings are attended by the President of the National Assembly, Vice-Presidents of the National Assembly, the Chairmen of Standing Committees, heads of factions and deputy groups or their secretaries, authorized representatives of the President of the Republic of Armenia and the Prime Minister, persons invited by the President of the National Assembly (Amended and Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
2. The presiding officer shall sign the protocol of the working consultation.
3. Taking into consideration the proposals presented at the working consultation, the President of the National Assembly shall approve the draft agenda of the regular session, the draft agenda for making amendments to it and the draft agenda of the four-day sittings, and shall present them for the consideration of the National Assembly.
Article 1101 . The order of applying to the Constitutional Court, envisioned by the 1st and 3rd paragraphs of the Article 100of the Constitution
1. According to the 3rd paragraph of the Article 101 of the Constitution at least one fifth of the deputies can apply to the Constitutional Court in the cases envisioned by the paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 100 of the Constitution.
2. The deputies’ initiative to apply with the questions to the Constitutional Court shall be implemented through signing the form received from the Staff and presenting it to the President of the National Assembly, envisioned by paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 100 of the Constitution. If the form with al least one fifth of the total number of the deputies’ signatures is submitted to the President of the National Assembly, he shall send the application with the mentioned form to the Constitutional Court within 24 hours, after which the form could not be changed.
(Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
Article 111. The function of the staff
The normative, expertise, legal, organizational, document-related, analytical, informational, financial, economic and logistical aspects of the activity of the National Assembly is ensured by the Staff, which is established in accordance with the procedure determined by the law and functions on the basis of laws and the by-laws of the Staff of the National Assembly (Added on 24.12.2004 LA-69).
Article 112. Coverage of the work of the National Assembly
1. The National Assembly can have publications of its own.
2. The open sittings of the National Assembly shall be broadcast live by the Public Radio Channel, unless another resolution is adopted by the National Assembly.
3. Coverage of the work of the National Assembly by mass media shall be organized by the Staff, which shall:
a) prepare the official information for release by the Public Television and Radio Company;
b) carry out the videotaping of the deputies’ announcements stipulated by the 3-rd paragraph of the 35-th Article of the present Law, as well as the preparation of television program "Parliamentary Hour" and of other television programs.
c) carry out mini interviews and press conferences with the President of the National Assembly, Vice-Presidents of the National Assembly, committees, factions and deputy groups;
c1 ) post on the website of the National Assembly the presence of the deputies at the open sitting of the National Assembly and the results of the personal voting;
d) issue other materials of informational character.
4. The coverage of the parliamentary activities of the National Assembly, its committees, factions and deputy groups shall be carried out by the Staff through the series of television programs called "Parliamentary Hour". The factions and deputy groups, as well as deputies who are not members of such equal time, up to 3 minutes, to express their views during one program (the total duration is 60 minutes) in the sequence established by the President of the National Assembly, after which the Staff shall be provided with up to 15 minutes to cover the news on the laws and the resolutions of the National Assembly, their authors (principal reporters) and supplementary reporters. The topic of the section of the program that is allotted to the factions, deputy groups and non-members shall be determined by the President of the National Assembly after discussing the issue in advance at the previous week’s working meeting of the National Assembly. The Public Television Channel shall broadcast the "Parliamentary Hour" at 9p.m. on Sundays (Amended on 24.12.2004 LA-69).
5. The videotaping of the meetings stipulated by the paragraph 4 of the Article 35 of the present Law, as well as live broadcasting of meetings of the National Assembly and, in the cases established by the resolutions of the National Assembly, recording of meetings of the National Assembly is carried out by the Public Television and Radio Company.
6. The right to submit proposals on official information about the activity of the National Assembly to the President of the National Assembly lies with the Vice-Presidents of the National Assembly as well as the Chairmen of the committees.
Article 113. Inter-Parliamentary relations
1. The National Assembly can conclude inter-Parliamentary agreements with legislative or highest representative bodies of other countries to regulate friendship and cooperation, exchange of experience, mutual assistance, formulation of friendship groups, exchange of delegations and other relations.
2. An inter-Parliamentary agreement is defined as any written agreement that has been formulated in the form of an agreement, memorandum, protocol or a document bearing any other name accepted in the international arena and, after being discussed at the working meeting of the National Assembly, is signed by the President of the National Assembly.
3. The right to initiate signing of an inter-Parliamentary agreement may lie with the President of the National Assembly, Vice-Presidents of the National Assembly, factions, deputy and friendship groups and the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations (Added on 26.02.2007 LA-111).
4. If the proposal to sign an inter-Parliamentary agreement was made by a legislative or higher representative body of another country, then it shall be discussed in the Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs and, within the period of one week, presented to the President of the National Assembly.
5. A deputy who has visited a foreign country on an assignment, within 10 days of return, shall submit the report on the completed work to the Staff for filing.
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 114. Effectiveness
1. The present Law shall come into effect immediately on its official publication.
2. Immediately after the present Law comes into effect, the "Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia", together with the changes and amendments, shall be considered invalid.
| 03.07.2002 | |
| 24.12.2004 | |
| 25.12.2006 | |
| 25.12.2006 | |
| 26.02.2007 | |
| 22.02.2007 | |
| 26.05.2008 | |
| 23.10.2008 | |
| 27.11.2008 | |
| 02.12.2008 | |
| 28.04.2009 | |
| 30.04.2009 | |
| 07.10.2009 | |
| 08.04.2010 | |
| 18.05.2010 |
