Armenia`s Ministry of Justice refutes rumors about fines imposed on  economic entities 

ArmInfo. The Ministry of Justice of Armenia has denied the opinion that the agency intends to force business entities to pay fines before going to court in connection with the proposed changes to the Code of Administrative Procedure.

As the press service of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia assured in  connection with statements circulated in the media, the project  concerning amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses does not  aim to bankrupt business entities. "This statement has been voiced  repeatedly in speeches, interviews and statements by both the  Ministry of Justice itself and the head of the Ministry of Justice in  various formats.

The agency once again emphasizes that, in accordance with Part 1 of  Article 88 of the Law "On the Fundamentals of Administration and  Administrative Proceedings", monetary claims are subject to execution  on the basis of the contested administrative acts in the manner  prescribed by the Law of Armenia "On the Compulsory Execution of  Judicial Acts", the agency emphasized.

In this regard, the Ministry of Justice assured that the act is not  considered unappealable and unenforceable until the verdict has  entered into full force. "Statements that the Ministry or the  government are pursuing the goal of forcing business entities to  fulfill monetary demands - to pay fines and only then go to court -  are not true," the department's representatives emphasized. 

In this regard, the Ministry of Justice drew attention to the fact  that the proposed changes concern the possibility of filing a  petition for the use of means to secure a claim in the event of a  challenge to an administrative act. "That is, a citizen, lawyer or  business entity will be able to petition and ask the court to suspend  the execution of an administrative act until a final court decision  is made. Consequently, the proposed change concerns not the payment  of a fine, but issues of appealing an administrative act in court,"  the Ministry explained.

It is further noted that if the proposed changes are adopted, the  citizen will also have the opportunity to appeal administrative acts.  The difference, as noted by the Ministry of Justice, will be that, if  necessary, he will have to justify in the appendix to his claim why  the administrative act should be suspended and what consequences may  arise for him if it is not suspended. "In fact, the goal of this  project is to protect our citizens and business entities from  unscrupulous persons whose actions threaten the interests of  society," the department stated. 

Meanwhile, as noted in the report, administrative acts, if they are  appealed in court, will not be suspended on their own in cases where  illegal construction, the operation of public catering  establishments, actions that damage the environment, or the operation  of a financial institution that continues to issue loans to citizens,  etc. are prohibited. "In such cases, an inadequate response by the  state to an offense may jeopardize the interests of a wide range of  the public. As a result of the changes, in all these cases, the  administrative intervention of the state will be more effective.  Persons receiving administrative management will also have the legal  opportunity to apply to the court with a petition for the latter to  make a decision on the suspension or non-suspension of the  administrative act, based on objective circumstances and having made  an impartial decision, which can become a guarantee of a balance of  rights of all parties," the Ministry of Justice summarized.

At the same time, independent experts believe that if the new bill is  introduced, citizens will become "penalty material." As  constitutional and administrative law specialist Vahe Grigoryan  noted, subsequently, citizens will either stop turning to  administrative courts altogether, or will be forced to wait for years  for the return of the amount of the fine illegally imposed on them.