Constitutional Law of The Republic of Armenia on Human Rights Defender

Article 34.     Legal acts regulating state service within the Staff of the Defender

1.  Relations pertaining to the appointment to and dismissal from the office of state service within the Staff of the Defender, conferment of class ranks, holding a competition for filling vacant positions, training courses for state servants, and inclusion of state servants in the personnel reserve, evaluation of their performance, their substitution and official trips, granting leaves, social guarantees for state servants and other relations pertaining thereto shall be regulated by this Law, as well as by the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On judicial service" where peculiarities regulating these relations are not prescribed by this Law.

2.  Official relations of state servants shall be regulated by the in-house disciplinary rules approved by the Defender.

3.  Labour relations of state servants shall be regulated by the labour legislation of the Republic of Armenia where peculiarities regulating these relations are not prescribed by this Law and other legal acts.

 

Article 35.   State service and class ranks within the Staff of the Defender

1.  State service within the Staff of the Defender shall be considered a professional activity performed for the purpose of ensuring the exercise of powers reserved to the Defender by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and this Law. State service within the Staff of the Defender shall be a special type of state service prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.

2.  Activities of experts engaged by the Defender, specialists, and persons carrying out technical maintenance related tasks and functions, and persons carrying out other individual tasks and functions on contractual bases shall not be considered as state service within the Staff of the Defender.

3.   State servants shall be conferred with the following class ranks:

 

(1)    state servants holding highest positions — class ranks of the 1st and 2nd class state counselor of state service within the Staff of the Defender;

(2)    state servants holding chief positions — class ranks of the 1st and 2nd class counselor of state service within the Staff of the Defender;

(3)    state servants holding leading positions — class ranks of the 1st and 2nd class leading servant of state service within the Staff of the Defender;

(4)    state servants holding junior positions — class ranks of the 1st and 2nd class junior servant of state service within the Staff of the Defender.

2.     Class ranks of state service to all state servants within the Staff of the Defender shall be conferred, their class rank shall be lowered, as well as they shall be deprived of the class rank by the Defender.

 

 Article 36.     Staff of the Defender

 

1.  The Staff of the Defender shall be a state administration institution, having no status of a legal person, whose functions are implemented by the Secretariat of the Staff.

2.   The Staff of the Defender shall ensure complete and effective exercise of the powers of the Defender reserved thereto by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, by this Law and other legal acts, as well as the participation of the Defender in civil legal relations.

3.     The Staff of the Defender shall be composed of two departments, the Subdivision of the National Preventive Mechanism, the Secretariat, regional and other subdivisions established based on the decision of the Defender, as well as advisors, assistants and press secretary of the Defender. Departments, Subdivision of the National Preventative Mechanism and regional subdivisions are separate subdivisions of the Staff of the Defender.

4.   Based on the decision of the Defender, persons holding office within the Staff of the Defender may act as representatives thereof at the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia.

 

Article 37.     Secretariat of the Staff of the Defender

1.  The Secretariat shall comprise the Head of Secretariat, state servants, as well as persons carrying out technical maintenance.

2.  The structure of the Secretariat shall include its structural subdivisions prescribed by law and other legal acts.

3.   The Head of Secretariat shall be appointed to and dismissed from office by the Defender.

4.   The Secretariat shall operate on the basis of the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and the Statute approved by the Defender.

5.   The Secretariat may, within the scope of powers thereof, acquire and exercise property and personal non-property rights, bear responsibilities, act as a plaintiff or civil defendant in court.

6.    The Secretariat shall support the complete and effective performance of the activities of the Defender, the subdivisions of the Staff thereto, as well as that of advisors, assistants and the press secretary of the Defender.

 

Article 38.     Subdivisions of the Staff of the Defender

1.   The subdivisions of the Staff of the Defender shall ensure effective and complete exercise of the powers of the Defender, the functions whereof shall be prescribed by the Defender.

2.   The subdivisions of the Staff of the Defender shall perform directly under the Defender.

3.   The Statutes and the structure of subdivisions of the Staff of the Defender shall be approved by the Defender.

4.   Based on the decision of the Defender, regional subdivisions of the Staff of the Defender may be established within the administrative-territorial units of the Republic of Armenia.

 

Article 39.   Administration and management of the Subdivisions and the Secretariat of the Staff of  the Defender

1.   The administration of the subdivisions and the Secretariat of the Staff of the Defender shall be carried out by the Defender. The Defender shall:

 

(1)   manage, co-ordinate and supervise the current activities of the subdivisions of the Staff of the Defender, ensure the performance of the objectives and functions thereof;

(2)   issue orders, assignments subject to compulsory implementation, render decisions;

(3)   approve and make changes to the number of employees and the staff table of the Staff of the Defender;

(4)   approve the list of positions of state service within the Staff of the Defender and the job descriptions for the positions of state servants;

(5)  appoint to and dismiss from position the state servants and persons holding discretionary offices within the Staff of the Defender, as well as apply incentive measures and impose disciplinary sanctions thereon;

(6)  define the procedure for training, performance evaluation of state servants, the criteria and reference form, code of conduct of state servants, procedures for conducting official investigation, case-management (document circulation), keeping the personal files of state servants;

(7)   prescribe the procedure for organizing a competition for filling vacant positions of state service within the Staff of the Defender, for the formation of selection boards, as well as the rules of procedure thereof;

(8)   upon his or her decision, send on an official trip and grant a leave to state servants and persons holding discretionary offices within the Staff of the Defender;

(9)    issue powers of attorney for acting on behalf of the Defender, including powers with the right of substitution;

(10)  exercise other powers reserved thereto by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and this Law.

 

2.   The management of the Secretariat shall be carried out by the Head of Secretariat. The Head of Secretariat shall:

 

(1)  support human resources policy, financial-budgetary, logistical support related activities;

(2) appoint to and dismiss from office persons carrying out technical maintenance of the Secretariat, as well as apply incentive measures and impose disciplinary sanctions thereon;

(3)  provide for the analysis and summarisation of the activities of the Staff of the Defender;

(4)  carry out activities related to the acceptance and registration of complaints addressed to the Defender, observance of the deadlines thereof;

(5)  keep the personal files of state servants;

(6)  ensure the operation of the official internet web-site of the Defender;

(7)  ensure the implementation of organisational activities required for the consultations, meetings, visits of the Defender, as well as for training and official trips of state servants;

(8)  exercise other powers reserved thereto by law.

 

3.  The management of a subdivision under the Staff of the Defender shall be carried out by the Head of Subdivision. The Head of Subdivision shall:

 

(1)  ensure the performance of functions arising from the goals and objectives of the subdivision;

(2)   co-ordinate the implementation of the required activities in the fields under responsibility thereof;

(3)   exercise supervision, in the areas under responsibility thereof, over the execution of assignments of the Defender, submit a report on the results to the Defender;

(4)   ensure, as prescribed by the Defender, the document circulation related to the field under the responsibility of the subdivision;

(5)   within the scope of the powers thereof co-operate with state and local self- government bodies, organisations and institutions;

(6)   act as the representative of the Defender in relations with other bodies, organisations and citizens;

(7)    substitute the Defender in cases and under the procedure prescribed by this Law;

(8)    exercise powers delegated by the Defender, in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 24 of this Law;

(9)   exercise other powers reserved thereto by this Law.

 

Article 40.     Remuneration of the Defender and state servants within the Staff of the Defender

1.        Relations related to remuneration of the Defender, staff members holding discretionary offices and state servants shall be regulated by the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On remuneration of state servants".