On April 4 the next sitting of RA NA Ad-hoc Committee on Matters of Integration in European Structures on the discussion of drafts of Constitutional amendments was held. The representatives of international and non-governmental organizations, Armen Harutyunyan, special representative of RA President, were present at the sitting.

The Committee discussed the 7^th chapter - “Local Self-Government” of Constitutional amendments.

Vostanik Marukhyan presented the draft of the coalition and “People’s Deputy” group. He mentioned that the number of articles remained the same but there are new provisions and some articles are edited. In the draft it is mentioned that local self-government is carried out in the communities. The local self-government is the ensured and guaranteed right by the state of the community for solving the local issues in compliance with the Constitution and the laws for the welfare of the population with own responsibility. The community is the union of population of one or several dwelling territories. The community is a legal entity, has ownership rights and other property rights. The chapter states the power directed to the managing and possessing the ownership of the community, solving issues of community essence and other power directed to satisfying the demands of the community that the community carries out as own power on its behalf and responsibility. A part of own power of the community may be considered compulsory by law. The land in the territory of the community except for the land necessary for state needs and the land belonging to physical and legal entities, is the ownership of the community. According to the draft, the communities form their budgets independently. The law defines the sources of income of the communities. The law defines such sources for financing the communities to ensure the execution of their power. The power entitled to the communities is subject to compulsory financing from the state budget. The community realizes its right to self-government through local self-government bodies that is the community council and the community head that are elected for 4 years by the order defined by law. Referring to the power of the community council it was mentioned that the community council possesses the ownership of the community by the order defined by law, supervises budget implementation, defines local taxes, duties and payments by the order defined by law, adopts legal acts that are subject to compulsory implementation in the territory of the community. The acts adopted by the community council may not contradict and the law defines entering into force. The power of the community head and the order of their implementation are defined by law. The members of the community may directly participate in the government of the community through solving the issues of community importance via referendum. The order and conditions of organizing a local referendum are defined by law.

The draft states the status of Yerevan. The City of Yerevan is a community. Mayor of Yerevan realizes the power of the community head. The peculiarities of local self-government in Yerevan, as well as the power of bodies are defined by law on the City of Yerevan. The law may also define local self-government on a district level for the City of Yerevan. Yerevan has an independent budget. The order of state supervision for the implementation of power entitled to the communities is defined by law. To ensure the legality of the general activity of the community legal supervision is realized by the order defined by law. Unification or separation of communities may be done both by the will of the communities and by the National Assembly upon the recommendation of the Government. The principles and the order of unification or separation of communities are defined by law.

MP Grigor Ghonjeyan presented the draft of the ULP. It was affirmed in the draft that the local self- government is carried out in the communities.

According to the draft the Government may remove from office the community head or reduce the period of power of the community council in cases envisaged by the law on the basis of conclusion of the Constitutional Court. Till the undertaking of responsibilities of the newly elected community head, the head of the region for no more than 90 days appoints an acting official of community head. The National Assembly, in cases prescribed by law, upon the recommendation of the Government and on the basis of the conclusion of the Constitutional Court, adopts a resolution on removing from office the head of Yerevan community and/or on the reduction of period of power of the council of Yerevan community. In case of such a resolution the President of the Republic appoints an acting official of the head of Yerevan community for no more than 90 days. In case of necessity widening the communities may be done both by the will of the communities and independent from their will by NA upon the recommendation of the Government. Till the discussion of the issue in NA the Government announces the results of local referendums realized in those communities. The communities may be united and separated independent from the results of local referendums. Summarizing his speech Mr. Ghonjeyan mentioned that ULP wholly shares the viewpoint of Venice Commission, Constitutional amendments shouldn’t envisage any provision that can in any way humiliate the independence of local self-government bodies.

Tigran Torosyan, NA Vice Speaker, Ad-hoc Committee Chairman, summarizing the discussions presented his viewpoints and recommendations on the chapter discussed and noted that local self-government is a new sphere and there are some obstacles in the Constitution for … establishment of local self-government, while without a full-fledged system of local self-government the state cannot be full-fledged. Mr. Torosyan noted several principles concerning local self-government: the Constitutional guarantee for ensuring the full-fledged independence of local self-government bodies, the Constitution should ensure power and guarantees for the local self-government at least within the framework of European Charter of local self-government, the Constitution should ensure the Constitutional guarantees of budget independence.

The next sitting of the committee will be held on April 6