ArmInfo.The deputies of the National Assembly of Armenia at the meeting on December 4 in the second and final reading voted against the draft amendments submitted by the Enlightened Armenia faction to the law "On Service in the National Security Bodies" and in the package of related laws. For the adoption of the package 19 deputies voted with 89 against.
The package provided for the appointment of persons to senior positions in national security bodies, as well as in other law enforcement agencies, to apply criteria that meet the requirements put forward by candidates for deputies or members of the government.
According to the leader of the Enlightened Armenia faction, Edmon Marukyan, the package proposed to establish a provision according to which it would be possible to appoint persons who are not representatives of law enforcement agencies as heads of the Police, National Security Service. Marukyan recalled that there were always problems with the appointment of the chiefs of the SNB and the police. "During the discussion of the government's structure, it was repeatedly noted that law enforcement agencies are political bodies, respectively, should be included in the government, but all our proposals were ignored. We suggest that when appointing people to governing bodies of law enforcement agencies apply criteria that would meet the requirements, put forward before candidates for deputies or members of the government, "said Edmon Marukyan. He also pointed out that the heads of law enforcement agencies should be citizens of Armenia at least 25 years old, have lived at least four years in the republic, have a higher legal education and have at least five years of experience. According to the deputy, the parliamentary system of government implies equal requirements both for deputies, members of the government and judges, and for employees of other structures.
In turn, RA First Deputy Minister of Justice Rafik Grigoryan noted that the idea itself is acceptable to the RA government. However, the positions of the heads of power departments are directly related to military service, since they are often equated with it. And in this context, the adoption of the document will lead to constitutional collapse, as there will be problems with the assignment of military ranks, career advancement, etc. For this and other reasons, the government is opposed to the liberalization of posts in law enforcement agencies.