The order of appointment of members of the Public Council will change in Armenia

ArmInfo. The order of appointment of members of the Public Council will change in Armenia. The draft law "On Public Council" was approved at the meeting of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on March 7 in the second and final reading.

First Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia Artur Hovhannisyan in his speech noted that the need to adopt the law is conditioned by the requirements of the updated Constitution, according to which the Public Council is recognized as an advisory body to the government of Armenia. The bill establishes the procedure for forming a council. In contrast to the current Public Council with the participation of 36 members, 45 people will be represented in the new council. Members of the council can be people who have reached the age of 25, with knowledge and experience. Instead of the current 12 advisory commissions, five branch commissions will now act on the board.

Extraordinary meetings of the council may be convened at the request of not 2/3 of the council members, as it is today, but 1/3. Sessions of the Public Council, which will be open, can occur at least once every two months against three months at present. The Public Council will be financed from the accounts of the state budget. The Public Council will be assisted by the Office of the Public Council, which will receive the status of a governmental body. 15 members of the council will be appointed by the government, who will then receive the right to apply to local government bodies, land and creative unions, student and youth organizations, veteran unions, etc. with a proposal to nominate candidates to the council. Having received data on the candidates, closed voting will be held, following which 15 members of the council who received the largest number of votes will be identified. After that, already 30 members of the council will elect the remaining 15 members.

After completion of all these procedures, the RA Prime Minister will present the list of council members for approval to the president of the country. Suspension of the activity of a member of the council can not be suspended within a year after his appointment. Under the Public Council, the Chamber for National Minorities will operate, which will become an advisory body. Currently, a new draft law "On National Minorities" is being prepared, which will regulate issues related to national minorities.