The Human Rights Defender presented proposals on the draft law on amendments to the Criminal Code drafted by the Ministry of Justice and presented to the Defender for opinion envisaging criminalization of insult regarding the performance of advocates’ activities or obvious disrespectful attitude towards them.
In addition, a comprehensive analysis of complaints addressed to the Defender and issues raised during the monitoring of places of deprivation of liberty was carried out.
As a result of these analyses the Defender presented new proposals aimed at protecting the professional activity of advocates from obstructions.
Together with the draft's regulations the following were also suggested:
- to tighten the punishment prescribed by Article 3323 of the RA Criminal Code for obstructing performance of advocates’ functions by an official using his/her official position, as well as to prescribe a punishment in the form of deprivation of liberty;
- to prescribe a liability for obstructing advocates’ activities by illegally preventing him/her from entering to any place of deprivation of liberty for the purpose of visiting a client.
The solution of this issues has a crucial importance for the Human Rights Defender, since unhindered activity of an advocate is a primary guarantee for the prevention of possible ill-treatment and persecution towards a person.
Taking into account the importance of the issue, a corresponding draft was prepared by the Defender in 2017 and presented to the human rights organizations for opinion and also posted on www.e-draft.am.
The draft and justifications are presented to the National Assembly and the Government.
The draft and its justification are presented.