The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has released an Interim Compliance Report (Fourth Evaluation Round) which assesses the actions taken by the Armenian authorities for implementation of the recommendations included in the report on the Fourth Evaluation Round.
The Interim Compliance Report on the Fourth Evaluation Round is devoted to “corruption prevention in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors”.
GRECO, in its Fourth Round Evaluation Report, addressed 18 recommendations to Armenia. In the Second Compliance Report, GRECO concluded that seven recommendations had been dealt with in a satisfactory manner and eleven recommendations had been partly implemented.
With respect to members of parliament, transparency of the legislative process remains to be prioritized, placing the emphasis on the involvement of the public in the law-making process and the use of “urgent procedures”. A draft code of ethics for MPs and draft amendments to the National Assembly’s Rules of Procedure intended to establish a mechanism to monitor members’ compliance with ethical norms have been developed but have not yet been presented to GRECO for scrutiny.
Supervision of MPs’ side activities has become more systematic but is yet to yield tangible results.
With regard to the judiciary, the role of the Minister of Justice in disciplinary procedures against judges has not been discontinued and the current situation is not compatible with judicial independence. Proper appeal mechanisms have been provided for decisions on the recruitment and promotion of judges but not for dismissal decisions. While the internal counselling mechanism for prosecutors has been separated from the disciplinary bodies, there is no evidence of its operation in practice nor of counselling on incompatibilities and other restrictions being offered to prosecutors by the Corruption Prevention Commission (CPC). Dedicated, mandatory and regular training on ethics, etc. for all practicing prosecutors is yet to be introduced.
Finally, concerning members of parliament, judges and prosecutors, enhanced provisions on gifts are noted but it has not been confirmed whether a procedure for registering permissible gifts is in place. Also, appropriate measures are still to be taken to ensure the effective supervision and enforcement of rules on asset declaration, conflicts of interest, incompatibilities and gifts by the CPC.
In light of the foregoing, GRECO notes that the current level of compliance with the recommendations remains “globally unsatisfactory”.
The Armenian delegation needs to present a report on the actions taken to implement the unimplemented recommendations as soon as possible, no later than before September 30, 2022.