ArmInfo.Chairperson of the Ethics Commission of High Officials of Armenia Siranush Sahakyan resigned. This is the official website of the commission.Sahakyan also made a statement in connection with his resignation, which, in particular, states: "After the extensive legislative reforms of 2017-2018, a strong and integrated system for preventing corruption in Armenia has become a reality.
However, the prospect of continuing reforms also required further steps - the formation of the Anti- Corruption Committee as an autonomous body, in accordance with constitutional provisions, the use of supervisory mechanisms to protect the restrictions imposed on officials, the collection and analysis of new declarations disclosing illegal enrichment, as well as enhanced cooperation with law enforcement.Meanwhile, the typical problems of the transition period have not been resolved. The law on corruption prevention committee was not formed. Moreover, ignoring the specific requirements of the law, a competition was not organized and held to select candidates for this structure. Since January 1, 2019, the content of the declarations has changed, as required by law. Accordingly, the previous legal provisions concerning declarations were invalid. The government did not approve the new model of the declaration, because it had to be proposed by the Committee for the Prevention of Corruption.
In addition, on January 1, 2019, the declaration was to be submitted not to the Ethics Committee, but to the Committee for the Prevention of Corruption, that is, not yet to a non-existent body. Despite existing agreements with interested international partners, the e-declaration system is still not technically compatible with the new legal provisions.The concern expressed by international organizations on the above issues also remained unnoticed. The steps taken by the Commission to overcome them were also ignored. The current situation is incompatible with my approach to professional activities and responsibility for solving problems in transition. So, from today I stop working in the Commission on the Ethics of High Officials>.