Concerning the Results of the Second Session of the Third Convention of
the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia
(September 8 2003-December 3 2003)
Seven 3-day sessions were convened during the Second Session of the Third Convention of the Republic of Armenia National Assembly. After the end of the session, two extraordinary sessions were convened at the initiative of the RoA Government on December 12 and 25, respectively.
The Agenda approved ahead of the Session encompassed 57 issues, but another 53 were added later on. 60 of the 110 issues on the Agenda were initiatives taken by the RoA Government, 38 by the Members of the National Assembly, and two jointly by the RoA Government and the Members of the National Assembly.
11 of the 29 issues discussed as binding and necessary matters were draft laws defined as "urgent" by a decree of the Republic of Armenia Government, one was the RoA Law on the Fundamentals of National Security, which has been sent back with the objections and recommendations of the RoA President, several international treaties to be ratified by the RoA, and other issues defined as binding and necessary matters under the laws of the Republic.
54 of the 110 issues on the Agenda of the Session were discussed; of these 54, nine were adopted in third reading and in final (eight came from the Government, and one from the parliamentarians), 27-in second reading and in final (11 from the Government, and 16 from the parliamentarians), six-in second reading (5 from the Government and one joint between the Government and the parliamentarians), and 12-in first reading (five from the Government and seven from the parliamentarians).
Three draft laws submitted by the RoA Government were rejected, including a draft Law on Amending the RoA Customs Code, which, however, was later refined and submitted to the RoA National Assembly for discussion again, the draft Law on Approving the 2002 Annual Report on the Execution of the 2001-2003 State Property Privatization Program, and the RoA draft Law on Operational-Intelligence Activities.
The authors withdrew six draft laws from circulation (one draft law of the Government and five draft laws of parliamentarians).
19 of the 36 laws adopted were drafts submitted by the RoA Government, 16-by the members of the National Assembly, and one was a draft prepared jointly by the RoA Government and the members of the National Assembly, i.e. the draft Law on Ensuring the Protection of Special Public Dignitaries.
Nine of the aforementioned 36 laws were "main" laws (five were received from the RoA Government, three from the parliamentarians, and one from jointly the RoA Government and the parliamentarians), while 27 were amendments to existing laws (18 from the RoA Government and nine from parliamentarians).
18 of the 36 laws adopted in full have financial/economic implications, six are of a social, environmental, and cultural nature, 15 deal with the legal framework, and 10 are concerned with science and education.
The original discussion of the RoA Law on the 2004 State Budget was incomplete, but this Law was adopted in full during an extraordinary session summoned at the initiative of the RoA Government.
Six draft laws, which had been discussed, but left incomplete during the previous session, were adopted in full during this Session (two had been received from the RoA Government, 3 from parliamentarians, and one was a joint draft between the RoA Government and parliamentarians).
11 drafts had passed first or second reading during the previous session, and were carried over to this Session, during which they were not discussed for the purpose of final adoption.
The National Assembly:
a) Voted to approve:
- The Report on the Execution of the 2002 State Budget of the RoA;
- The 2002 Annual Report on the Activities of the Securities Market Commission;
- The 2004 Annual Program of the Securities Market Commission;
- The 2004 Annual Program of Targeted Public Activities of the Securities Market Commission; and
- The 2004 Annual Program of the Chamber of Control of the RoA National Assembly.
b) Heard:
- The 2002 Annual Report of the Central Bank; and
- The 2004 Annual Program of the RoA State Committee for the Protection of Economic Competition.
c) Voted to decide upon the creation of three Ad Hoc Committees of the National Assembly:
- Ad Hoc Committee of the RoA National Assembly to study the efficiency of utilizing loans, credits, grants, and humanitarian assistance from foreign states and international organizations;
- Ad Hoc Committee of the RoA National Assembly to study the potential for recovering and reimbursing to citizens their savings deposits with "ArmSavingsBank"; and
- Ad Hoc Committee of the RoA National Assembly for European integration.
d) Voted in camera to elect:
- Kim Balayan as a member of the Constitutional Court; and
- Arthur Javadyan as Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank.
The majority of the parliamentarian drafts that were adopted were prepared by parliamentarians who represent the Coalition in the RoA National Assembly (G. Sahakyan, L. Mkrtchyan, and S. Balasanyan), as well as V. Dallakyan.
Here are some of the particularly important drafts that were adopted: RoA Law on the Mass Media, Law on Lotteries, Law on Alternative Service, Law on Citizens who Fail to Undergo Compulsory Military Service in Breach of the Established Procedures, Law on Insolvency/Bankruptcy, Law on the Minimum Monthly Wages, Law on Public Auctions, Law on Freedom of Information, and Law on the Human Rights Defender.
During the Session, 35 international treaties were ratified, 18 of which covered economic cooperation, 11-legal cooperation, 9-defense cooperation, and 7-cooperation in science, education, healthcare, and environmental protection.
During the Session, 16 parliamentarians posed written questions before the RoA Government.
During the Session, 93 parliamentarians made statements, of which 48 were concerned with the activities of the Government.
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