Report on reforms implemented in the anti-corruption field and within the public administration system

The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia continues to implement reforms in the anti-corruption field and within the public administration system and presents the activities carried out recently.

In particular:

(1)    the package of draft Laws "On making amendments and supplements to the Law "On Commission for the Prevention of Corruption" and related laws" was adopted on 9 June 2017, according to which a corruption prevention body will be established in Armenia for the first time. Unlike the existing anti-corruption bodies, the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption will have a self-reliant staff, will be financed from the State Budget of the Republic of Armenia and will be vested with guarantees for independence;

(2)    the scope of officials (all prosecutors, investigators of national security bodies, tax and customs services, the Investigative Committee and the Special Investigation Service, the heads of administrative districts of the city of Yerevan, members of the Procurement Appeals Board) having liability to submit a declaration has been expanded, the scope of affiliated persons has been specified, and the institute of declaration of interest has been introduced under the Law "On making amendments and supplements to the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On public service”” adopted on 9 June 2017, as a result of which the level of public accountability will rise;

(3)    on 9 June 2017, the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On the system of whistle-blowing" and related laws were adopted, within the scope whereof provisions on guarantees for protection of whistle-blowers, as well as introduction of active mechanisms have been defined (mechanism for submitting an anonymous report); this will help shape the public’s intolerant attitude towards corruption, reveal corruption-related cases and raise the level of effectiveness of the activities of bodies revealing corruption-related cases;

(4)    on 9 June 2017, the Law "On making a supplement and an amendment to the Law “On the Prosecutor's Office”” was adopted, according to which the system of crime statistics has undergone reforms;

(5)    on 9 June 2017, the draft Law of the Republic of Armenia "On making amendments and a supplement to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia" was adopted, through which Article 311² of the Criminal Code (Use of real or alleged influence for mercenary purposes) has been brought into compliance with international standards;

(6)    mechanisms deriving from the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On the system of whistle-blowing" are being established. On the initiative of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, on 31 July 2017, the joint project titled "Support for implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy of the Government of the Republic of Armenia" was signed with the Embassy of the United Kingdom in the Republic of Armenia, within the scope of which large-scale public awareness-raising campaigns on the system of whistle-blowing are currently being implemented. As a result of the implemented measures, the level of public awareness and awareness of civil society about the main principles, regulations and purpose of the Law "On the system of whistle-blowing" will be raised;

(7)    the process of development of the new Anti-Corruption Strategy has been launched;

(8)    The Fourth Round of Monitoring of the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia was launched on 30 October 2017. Within the scope of the mentioned Round, a questionnaire was submitted to Armenia, and from 12 to 16 March 2018, an OECD monitoring group was in Armenia for the purpose of on-site assessment of the situation. For the purpose of clarifying a number of issues having arisen as a result of the visit, the OECD Secretariat submitted an additional questionnaire to Armenia. Currently, the questionnaire is being finalised. It should be mentioned that the final monitoring will be carried out in Paris within the first ten days of July 2018.

(9)    the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) of the Council of Europe adopted the Compliance Report of Fourth Evaluation Round on the Republic of Armenia during the 78^th regular plenary session in December 2017, and based on the results, progress has been made under 17 of the 18 assignments given to Armenia;

(10)  Decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia No 272-N "On establishing the standard form for record-keeping and formulation of reports in case of internal and external whistle-blowing, as well as the procedure for implementation of the means of protection provided to a whistle-blower" was adopted on 15 March 2018;

(11)   Decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia No 439-N "On approving the technical specifications and maintenance procedure of the unified electronic platform of whistle-blowing" was adopted on 12 April 2018;

(12)   The new Law “On public service” was developed by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia and was adopted on 29 March 2018, specifying the classification of positions, and the systems of integrity and conflict of interests of public servants and high-ranking officials, as well as declaration have been improved;

(13)   a multifaceted and comprehensive plan for a public awareness-raising campaign is currently being developed in order to raise public awareness about anti-corruption measures, the reforms implemented in the service provision sector, the mechanisms for whistle-blowing and appealing, as well as the rights of persons when dealing with state bodies.