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The regulations of the Law on Public Service provide for the prohibition of holding public and public service positions in state and local self-government bodies, while the laws on Local Self-Government and on Local Self-Government in the city of Yerevan do not provide such regulations. As a result of this misunderstanding, a number of members of the Council of Elders combine their position with public and public service positions. After the proposed amendments come into effect, during the upcoming election of the Council of Elders, there will be an absolute prohibition regarding the incompatibility of the members of the Council of Elders of the community and public and public service positions: The members of the Council of Elders will not be able to combine their position with public positions and public service positions.

The RA Deputy Minister of Justice Karen Karapetyan presented the proposed amendments to the laws on Public Service, on Local Self-Government and on Local Self-Government in the City of Yerevan at the sitting of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs.

Karen Karapetyan proposed to organize the second reading of the package within 24 hours after passing it in the first reading. The legislative package is proposed to enter into force on the day following its official publication.

The rapporteur provided clarifications regarding the MPs' concerns.

In her related report, the MP Alkhas Ghazaryan, calling on her colleagues to vote for it, proposed to make the model of the Council of Elders receiving salaries on a paid basis a subject of discussion.

Responding to Karen Karapetyan’s observation that this structure is not new, it has been in operation for 4 years, the Committee Chair Vladimir Vardanyan raised a rhetorical question: In the event that at least the Council of Elders of the large cities submitted declarations, it was studied by the Corruption Prevention Commission and there were no consequences, then why did the aforementioned Commission notice the incompatibility issue now? According to the Committee Chair, incompatibility and conflict of interests are different institutions. Proposing to vote for the package, he opined that either we should go with the option of having a professional regional Parliament, or we should return to the model of not constantly observing the work of the Council of Elders and establish control over incompatible functions within the framework of that activity.

The NA Standing Committee endorsed the legislative package.