On June 9 the sittings of the NA Standing Committees were held.

The draft, presented by Vardan Ayvazyan, Minister of Environment, on Making Amendments to the RA Law on State Duty was debated at the sitting of the NA Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Health Care and Environment, headed by Mnatsakan Petrosyan, Chairman of the Committee.

Deputy Minister of Justice Anatoly Matevosyan presented the draft on Making Amendments and Addenda to the RA Law on Trade Unions. The RA Law on Trade Unions was adopted on December 5, 2000. After the adoption of the law, a new RA Labor Code was adopted on November 9, 2004.

The Committee debated also the government-submitted drafts on Making Amendments to the RA Law on Plants Quarantine and Plants Protection and on Making Amendments to the RA Law on State Agrarian Inspectorate. Deputy Minister of Agriculture Samvel Galstyan presented the drafts.

Gagik Khachatryan, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, presented the government-submitted drafts on Making Amendments and Addenda to the RA Law on Administrative Offences. Gagik Khachatryan promised to take into consideration the MPs’ remarks around the issue during the first and second readings.

The drafts were endorsed to be put on the agenda of the NA four-days sittings and big agenda.

The debates of the drafts on Making Amendments to the RA Law on Gyumri City Restoration, on the Establishment of State Guarantees to Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities to Men and Women, on Composition and Structure of Minimal Consumer Basket were postponed for 30 days.

The draft on Making Amendments to the RA Law on Administrative Offences, presented by Gevorg Danielyan, the RA Deputy Chief Prosecutor, was debated and endorsed at the sitting of the NA Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs, headed by Aramayis Grigoryan, Chairman of the Committee. Judging from the people’s social status, in the events of reservists’ offences the Committee members proposed to decrease the penalty from 30-fold to 5-fold, which was adopted by the representative of the government, and the draft was endorsed to be put on the forthcoming four-days sittings’ draft agenda.

Ararat Mahtesyan, Deputy Head of the Police, presented the Additional Protocol to the Agreement Among the Governments of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Participating States on Cooperation on Combating Crime, in particular in its organized Forms, signed on March 15, 2002 in Kiev, which was endorsed and put on June 12-14 NA sittings’ draft agenda.

Andranik Manukyan, Minister of Transport and Communication, presented the Agreement on International Automobile Communication between the Government of Republic of Armenia and the Government of Georgia, signed on April 25, 2006 at the sitting of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations, headed by Armen Roustamyan.

Areg Galstyan, Deputy Minister of Energy, presented for the debates the Agreement on 4159-AM Development Credit between the RA and International Development Partnership (Restorable Energy Program), signed on April 7, 2006.

Ararat Mahtesyan, Deputy Head of the Police, presented the Additional Protocol to the Agreement Among the Governments of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Participating States on Cooperation on Combating Crime, in particular in its Organized Forms, signed on March 15, 2002 in Kiev.

The Committee debated also the proposal of the RA President on expediency of ceasing the activity of the Agreement on the Status of CIS Economic Court on July 6, 1992, which was presented by Deputy Minister of Justice Anatoly Matevosyan.

The agreements and the RA President’s proposal with the Committee’s endorsement will be presented for Parliament’s ratification.

The Committee on Financial-Credit, Budgetary and Economic Affairs, headed by Vahram Baghdasaryan, endorsed 3 legislative initiatives to put them on the agenda of the forthcoming four-days sittings and big agenda. Besides, it was decided to secure two more issues for the big session and one issue and an agreement to put on the agenda of four-days sitting.

Shavarsh Kocharyan, Deputy of Ardarutiun/Justice faction, proposes making Amendments to the RA Law on Value Added Tax, relieving scientific, popular scientific and educational publishers from this type of taxes.

Vardan Ayvazyan, Minister of Environment, proposes to differentiate the rate of the state duty for exploitation of mineral waters’ mines in the Law on State Duty. Armine Naghdalyan, member of the Committee, proposes to create more favorable conditions, in perspective developing this branch, to use mineral waters for medical-recreation purposes.

Armen Alaverdyan, Deputy Chief of Tax Service, highlighted once more the necessity of the adoption of the draft on Property and Income Declaration of Physical Entities (the draft was refuted at the plenary session, collecting 54 votes for).

The Government suggests making amendments to the Law on Organization and Conducting Audits.

The Basic Law, regulating two spheres, was presented to the evaluation of the Committee: Law on Control Over the Exploitation and Preservation of Lands and Law on Plants Quarantine and Plants Protection.

The NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, headed by Rafik Patrosyan, debated in the first reading the draft on Making Amendments to the RA Law on Organization and Conducting Audits in Armenia, which was presented by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Gagik Khachatryan. He also presented for the first reading the draft on Making Amendments and Addenda to the RA Law on Administrative Offences.

With the Committee’s endorsement these two drafts will be put on the agenda of the four-day sittings and big agenda.

Two returned drafts on Making Amendments and Addendum to the RA Criminal Executive Code and on Making Amendment to the RA Criminal Procedure Code, presented by the RA President Assistant Gevorg Mheryan, were debated on RA President’s proposal.

On comments of Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs Rafik Petrosyan a misunderstanding took place:the wrong option of the draft was sent to the President’s ratification.

With the Committee’s endorsement the returned drafts on Making Amendments and Addendum to the RA Criminal Executive Code and on Making Amendment to the RA Criminal Procedure Code on RA President’s proposal will be put on the agenda of the NA four-day sitting.

Viktor Dallakyan, Secretary of Ardarutiun faction, presented the Ardarutiun faction-submitted drafts on the Establishment of the NA Ad-hoc Committee on Studying the Violations during the Referendum on November 27, 2005 on the RA Constitutional Amendments and on the Establishment of the NA Ad-hoc Committee on Studying the Violations during the RA State Elections in 2003.

Rafik Petrosyan, Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, considering the establishment of Ad-hoc Committee not on time, in his co-report noted that it is necessary to apply to the Constitutional Court in order to dispute the results of elections.

The Government’s conclusion in connection with draft resolutions was negative. The committee didn’t make any decision regarding the drafts.

Artur Osikyan, Deputy Head of the State Tax Service adjunct to the RA government, presented for the first reading the draft on Making Amendments and Addendum to the RA Criminal Code. The endorsed draft will be put on the agenda of the four-day sitting and big agenda.

The drafts on Copyrights and Related Rights, on Making Amendments and Addendum to the RA Civil Code, on Making Amendment to the Criminal Code were debated in the third reading. The draft on Making Amendments and Addenda to the RA Law on Administrative Offences was debated in the second reading.

The debates of the drafts on Making Amendments to the RA Criminal Procedure Code, on Making Addendum to the RA Criminal Code, on Making Addendum to the RA Law on Police, on the Establishment of State Guarantees to Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities to Men and Women, on Making Addendum to the RA Law on Holidays and Memorial Days were postponed for 30 days.