VOTING OF BILL ON AMENDMENTS AND ADDENDA TO LAW ON FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS POSTPONED

Noyan Tapan

F eb 23, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Assembly regular
four-day plenary session opened on February 23. 50 issues are on the
agenda, including 6 international agreements submitted for ratification
by the RA President.

At the morning sitting the parliament in the first reading adopted
the bill On State Courier Communication discussed at the previous
four-day session.

The 2009 annual plan of the RA Economic Competition State Commission
was taken into consideration.

The voting of the package of bills on making amendments and addenda
to the law On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations and
to the RA Criminal Code discussed in the first reading was postponed
until the next four-day session at its authors’ proposal. The delay is
due to the necessity of revising the bills on the basis of proposals
acceptable for the authors.

As NT correspondent was informed by Armen Ashotian, the Chairman of the
NA Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Youth Affairs,
and Sport, many proposals were received at the NA plenary sitting,
as well as during extra-parliamentary discussions. Among them the
proposals on clarification of the notion "soul chasing" and on lowering
the proposed minimum quantitative limit necessary for registration
of religious organizations are mainly acceptable. In connection with
the latter it was, in particular, mentioned that the amount 500 will
be stipulated in the bill to be put to the vote in the first reading
instead of the 1000 envisaged in the initial variant and current 200
stipulated by the law.

According to A. Ashotian, the co-authors, in all probability,
will decide to apply to the NA Speaker to send the bill for Venice
Commission’s expertise.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress