Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia, organised two round-table discussions on the concept paper of the new law on Police Guard and associated legal acts, on 25-26 July in Yerevan. The objective of the round table discussions was to bring together the relevant state authorities, key professionals, policy makers and experts, as well as civil society and international organisations, to discuss the concept paper of the new legislative initiative.

In line with the RA Government Programme of Activities for 2021-2026, the RA Police Reform Strategy, and the RA National Strategy for Human Rights Protection, the Council of Europe addresses the issue of the protection of the right to peaceful assembly through legislative support and capacity building of relevant stakeholders. In particular, the Council of Europe expertise will be provided to prepare the new law on “Police Guard" and introduce relevant amendments in a number of associated legal acts such as the law on Freedom of Assemblies, law on Police, and the Code on Administrative Offences of Armenia.

It is planned that the police forces, formed on the basis of the new law, should also have the functions of protecting the public order during mass public events. Therefore, the legislation should also regulate the legality and proportionality of the use of physical force, special measures and weapons by police officers during public events. The adoption of the law will have a direct impact on the execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the problems reflected in the Mushegh Saghatelyan v. Armenia group of cases.

The events were organised by  the Project “Support to the effective execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in Armenia”, funded by Human Rights Trust Fund and implemented in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia for 2023-2026.