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The Executive has planned a number of amendments and addenda to the Criminal, Criminal Procedure and Penitentiary Codes. The RA Deputy Minister of Justice Ara Mkrtchyan presented the new regulations in the first reading for debate at the NA sitting on December 8.

The Criminal Code provides for an aggravating circumstance for the crime of causing minor damage to health.

The Code does not provide for criminal liability for such an act under conditions of falsifying evidence in actual criminal proceedings. With the amendment, it is proposed to complete the article.

In connection with the proceedings of recidivism and the imposition of consent fines, the duty of the court to impose the punishment of imprisonment or life imprisonment in case of recidivism of the crime is provided, if those punishments are included in the sanction of the article defining liability for the committed crime. The minimum thresholds for punishments not related to deprivation of liberty in case of recidivism of crimes are also defined.

A special proceeding is added to the Criminal Procedure Code: imposing a fine by consent. According to the Deputy Minister’s assessment, the new regulation will make it possible to relieve the burden of the pre-trial and forensic bodies.

Ara Mkrtchyan presented another important amendment, which refers to the non-appearance of a properly notified person due to illness. He noted that there are many complaints that the trials and preliminary investigations are delayed when the participants do not appear at the investigative and trial actions with unnecessary reasons and grounds.

According to the next amendment, when bail is imposed on a person, the latter must submit a document on paying the bail within three days. If such a document is not submitted, the court is given the opportunity to once again discuss the expediency of using bail. Technical amendments were also made.

In the questions, the MPs talked about the delays in court proceedings, the possibility of restricting a person’s rights as a result of clarifying the presentation of medical documents, imposing sanctions and the clarification of sanctions for a number of crimes. The Deputy Minister responded to the MPs’ concerns.

In the related report, the member of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs Arpine Davoyan underlined that as a result of the monitoring carried out after the entry into force of the new Criminal, Criminal Procedure and Penitentiary Codes, problems arising from the application of the provisions of the new codes were highlighted, which these regulations are aimed at solving.