ArmInfo. On June 19, Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan received a delegation led by the United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Lynne Tracy. According to the press service of the RA Ministry of Justice, the Minister praised the meetings with the Ambassador, noting that the most important issues of cooperation were discussed during them.
US Ambassador Lynne Tracy reiterated US support for the ambitious reforms of the Armenian justice system, including the formation of anti-corruption institutions and police reform.
Speaking about police reforms, Rustam Badasyan emphasized that their implementation is carried out in the right direction and at high speed. Regarding the creation of the Patrol Service, the Minister reminded that the relevant legislative amendments have been made in a short period of time, by-laws are being developed, and the number of people interested in working in the Patrol Service is encouraging.
During the meeting, the Minister of Justice also spoke about the processes taking place in the judicial system, the fight against corruption and the confiscation of property of illegal origin.
To recall, on April 23 meeting, the Government of the Republic of Armenia approved a reform strategy and an action program for 2020-2022.
According to RA Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan, one of the reform areas will be the creation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which will develop policies and bear political responsibility for the reform process. The initiative proposes to maintain the position of chief of police, provided that he will be appointed by the Prime Minister at the proposal of the Minister.
It is envisaged to distinguish between civil service in the police and military, for example, the administration of visas and passports and the registration center of investigations. It is also planned to create a Patrol Service and a single operational management center. This will happen as a result of the merger of the Traffic Police and the Patrol Service. It is also proposed to include the Central Bank's Financial Monitoring Center in the structure of the ministry, as well as to include the functions of the Migration Service in the new organizational and legal structure of the police. As part of the reforms, it is envisaged to reorganize internal troops into the National Guard. The National Guard may, in appropriate cases, participate in maintaining public order and ensure the protection of strategic facilities (the functions of the Main Directorate of State Guard are transferred to the National Guard). It is envisaged that the National Guard will participate in the prevention and suppression of mass riots, in the implementation of anti-terrorism measures, in ensuring the legal regime of martial law and in emergency situations, in assisting with search and rescue operations in the event of natural or man-made disasters, and in ensuring the safety of transportation special cargo.