The EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance is supporting the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia in developing a Code of Conduct for members of parliament. This assistance addresses both national priorities in the Republic of Armenia and an important recommendation by GRECO in its Fourth Round Evaluation (GrecoRC4(2019)21) that a Code of Conduct for members of parliament be adopted and made easily accessible to the public, which provides clear guidance on conflicts of interest and related areas.
For this purpose, a needs assessment mission was organised in February 2020 during which the project team and Council of Europe experts held meetings with representatives of different factions in the National Assembly, standing committee on state and legal affairs, and Transparency International Anti-corruption Center NGO.
Based on the outcomes of the consultation meetings and the review of relevant laws and procedures of the Republic of Armenia, a technical paper "Proposed code of conduct for Deputies of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia" was prepared and later on peer-reviewed by a second Council of Europe expert, before being proposed to the Armenian Parliamentarians for review.
The Technical Paper consists of 33 suggested provisions to be considered for inclusion in the Code of Conduct of the National Assembly. The provisions describe the purpose of the Code, outline 8 general principles and 24 detailed obligations regarding the management of conflicts of interest, outside activities, gifts, and other issues. The technical paper was translated into Armenian and has been shared with beneficiaries in April 2020. It will be discussed with the Working Group of the National Assembly in September 2020.
The Project will continue to support the National Assembly in the drafting and adoption of the Code of Conduct, thus contributing further to the implementation of GRECO’s recommendation in this regard, and to the improvement of the integrity system of the Armenian legislative institution.
This support is provided within the framework of the EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance II Project on “Strengthening institutional capacities to fight and prevent corruption in Armenia” (PGGII-ARM) which is funded jointly by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.