Law Techniques of Republic of Armenia

Law Techniques

Lawmaking – one of state primary activities.

Lawmaking is carried out by legislators who should possess special knowledge, skills, that is rules of legislative equipment.

According to the Law «About legal acts» it is necessary to understand as the legal act accepted by the Republic Armenia people, state authorities or local governments, the public or municipal authorities, and also legal entities of the Republic Armenia, their allocated divisions or establishments in the cases provided by the law and an order within their powers the official written document to which are established subject to obligatory recognition, protection, protection, execution or application of the right, a duty, responsibility, restrictions or other rules. The legal act should correspond to rules of legislative equipment.

According to article 2 of the Constitution of the Republic Armenia the power in the Republic Armenia belongs to the people. The people carry out the power by means of free elections, referenda, and also through the state authorities provided by the Constitution, local governments and officials.

Carrying out a referendum in the republic Armenia is regulated by the Law «About a referendum», accepted on October 9, 2001.

According to Law article 6 «About legal acts» competence to adopt regulatory legal acts have:

• the people - only by a referendum;
• The president of the Republic Armenia, National Assembly of the Republic Armenia, the Republic Armenia Government, the Prime minister of the Republic Armenia, Council of the Central bank of the Republic Armenia, and also the Central election commission of the Republic Armenia, the Regulating commission on Republic Armenia power, the State Council according to the Republic Armenia, the Commission on Republic Armenia securities, the State commission on protection of the economic competition of the Republic Armenia, the National commission on television and radio, Council for public service of the Republic Armenia, ministers of the Republic Armenia, heads of state authorities at the Republic Armenia Government, and also governors, the mayor of Yerevan, municipal council and the head of municipality;
• The constitutional Court of the Republic Armenia - in the cases provided by the Constitution of the Republic Armenia;
• courts of the first instance, appeal courts and Republic Armenia Court of review - regarding recognition void the legal act of state body or the local government contradicting the law.

Rules of legislative equipment

Preparation of draughts of regulatory legal acts (right creative works) is carried out according to the current programs which are, as a rule, made for term in 1-2 years. Long-term programs of right creative works are made for term in 3 years and more than years.

In programs of right creative works initial names and types of regulatory legal acts, and also bodies responsible for their development and terms of development of these acts are specified. The approval of programs of right creative works does not exclude development and adoption of the regulatory legal acts which have not been specified in them.

The state authority or local government, the public or municipal authority or the legal entity developing the draught of the legal act, can create the commission on development of the project from number of employees and specialists of this body. For work on development of the project representatives, specialists of the scientific organisations, the interested bodies and the organisations can be involved also.

The right creative body can charge development of the regulatory legal act legal or to individuals, and also has the right to charge preparation of alternative projects to several establishments, legal or to individuals. The right creative body has the right to declare competition on the best project.

Legal entities and individuals have the right to develop and represent on the initiative to the appropriate right creative bodies draughts of regulatory legal acts. Draughts of laws developed by legal entities and individuals and resolutions of National Assembly of the Republic Armenia are represented to persons or the bodies possessing the right of a legislative initiative.

According to article 75 of the Constitution of the Republic Armenia the right of a legislative initiative in National Assembly belongs to deputies and the Government.

The government establishes sequence of discussion of the projects of laws brought by it and can demand, that they have been put on vote with amendments accepted only for it.

Developers of draughts of regulatory legal acts have the right to participate in discussion of projects. Authors of the National Assembly of the Republic Armenia of the project of the legal act submitted for consideration can take part in discussion of the corresponding projects in an order established by Regulations of National Assembly of the Republic Armenia.

At introduction of the draught of the regulatory legal act on consideration of right creative body to it are applied:

• justification of acceptance of the legal act,
• the list of legal acts on the basis of which or using with which is developed the project of the regulatory legal act,
• the certificate of need or lack of need of modification and additions in other legal acts in connection with acceptance of the project,
• the certificate of essential increase or reduction of expenses and the income in the budget of state authority or local government in connection with acceptance of the legal act,
• names of authors (developers) of the project or the list of bodies, the legal entities and individuals who have taken part in work on its preparation, and also the list of bodies with which the project has been co-ordinated,
• the conclusion of legal examination of legal division (lawyer) of the organisation developing the project.

When entering the draught of the regulatory legal act into right creative body to the project can be applied and financial and economic calculations, statistical data, other documents which have formed a basis for development of the legal act, and also other data necessary for justification of the brought project.

For an assessment of quality of the draught of the legal act introduced in right creative body it can be carried out independent official (legal, financial, scientific and technical, ecological, lingvostilistichesky, etc.) examination.

Draughts of regulatory legal acts with a view of their reduction in compliance with the Republic Armenia Constitution, laws and other legal acts, and also ensuring observance when developing these legal acts of requirements and rules of legislative equipment are exposed to obligatory state legal examination in the Republic Armenia Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Justice of the Republic Armenia independently at implementation of the state legal examination of regulatory legal acts and not accountably any body at implementation of the state legal examination of regulatory legal acts.

Regulatory legal acts are subject to the state registration by the Republic Armenia Ministry of Justice by means of commission of the corresponding entry in the Register of the state registration.

Legal acts of the Republic Armenia are stated in an official state language - literary Armenian language.

Language of legal acts should be clear, accurate and available. In legal acts the inappropriate use of out-of-date and multiple-valued words and expressions, figurative comparisons, allegories, hyperboles, words and the expressions having figurative sense, the hidden implications, and also foreign terms is not allowed. Provisions of the legal act should be perceived unequivocally, provide an emotional neutrality.

Style of the regulatory legal act - imperative and insistent and official.

In the legal act rules of the Armenian language should be observed.

The official translation of the legal act carries out the body issuing the act, or the Republic Armenia Ministry of Justice.

The translation of the individual or internal legal act certified of a notarial order also is considered official transfer.

Structure of legal acts

The legal act can contain the name, the main part, a final part or transitional provisions.

The final part and transitional provisions of the legal act can be stated in a form either certain heads, or articles, or points.

The legal act can contain a preamble which defines the purposes and motives of the publication of the legal act. The preamble does not join standard provisions. The preamble is not subdivided into articles (points).

In a preamble or contents of the individual or internal legal act it should be specified, according to what regulatory legal act, its part or in response to what regulatory legal act, its part it is published.

In a final part of the regulatory legal act can be established:

• terms of coming into effect of the legal act and its action (for the temporary act);
• connected with the publication of the legal act modification or additions in other legal act;
• connected with the publication of the legal act the list of the legal acts, which action is subject to the termination;
• connected with the publication of the legal act of the recommendation or the offer on change, addition of other legal acts or preparation of draughts of lists of the acts which action is subject to the termination.

The structure of the legal act should be compact: logically uniform, consecutive and systematised. The legal act should be exhaustive, complete and in full regulate all specifics of the relations provided by the act. If regulation of all specifics of these relations by this legal act is impossible or inexpedient, in it in the form of references or separate parts types of those legal acts by which the noncontrollable relations will be regulated should be defined, or those right creative bodies which should regulate such relations are specified.

The law — is the regulatory legal act which defines, orders or resolves certain human relations and the organisations, provides methods of the unbiassed treatment of these people, and also punishments for those who does not follow the established rules of behaviour. In society the law establishes a formal mode which orders human activities and the human relations by systematic use of force from politically organised society.

According to the Republic Armenia constitution from July 5, 1995 the National Assembly is the body which is carrying out legislature in the state.

Laws and resolutions of National Assembly are accepted by a majority of votes of deputies present at meeting if in vote have taken part more than a half from total number of deputies.

The bill is considered in National Assembly in three readings.

According to the Law from March 21, 2002 «Regulations of National Assembly» consideration in National Assembly of projects or a package of draughts of laws, draughts of resolutions of National Assembly and other questions provided by laws is carried out in the following sequence:

1. speech of the main speaker;
2. questions to the main speaker;
3. co-speaker performance;
4. questions to a co-speaker;
5. debate;
6. final performance of a co-speaker;
7. final speech of the main speaker;
8. vote.

Accepted in the first, in the second, in the third reading the project or a package of bills goes to the President of the Republic, to the Government, in the head commission, fractions, deputy groups and in the Device, and also takes place on an electronic site of National Assembly.

The law returned by the President of the Republic, joins in the agenda of regular session and is considered out of turn. The chairman of National Assembly within 24 hours sends the law returned by the President of the Republic with objections or offers, to the relevant head commission which represents the conclusion about it to the Chairman of National Assembly not less than in 2 hours prior to the beginning of the first meeting of four-day meetings of regular session.

If the President of the Republic does not object to adoption of law as a whole, returned with his objections and (or) offers the law is considered in an order established by article 55 of the Law «Regulations of National Assembly». With the main report the representative of the President of the Republic, and makes the supporting report – the representative of the head commission.

In case of rejection of objections and proposals of the President of the Republic the National Assembly passes again the returned law by a majority vote from total number of deputies.

In National Assembly no more than twelve constant commissions can be created.

The constant commissions are created for preliminary discussion of draughts of acts and other questions and submission of the conclusions on them to National Assembly.

In case of need in established by the Law - Regulations of National Assembly an order the temporary commissions for preliminary discussion of draughts of separate laws or representation to National Assembly of the conclusions, references on certain questions, events and the facts can be created.

Legal acts of the Republic Armenia are stated in an official state language of the Republic Armenia — literary Armenian language.