Rule of Law is determined not by the Thieves in the Country, but by the ability of Authorities to neutralize them

Marat Atovmyan, Board member of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association considers that the Draft on Criminalization of Illicit Enrichment is the result of consistent and constructive work. During the interview Mr. Atovmyan said, “The Government’s approval of the Draft on criminalization of illicit enrichment was preceded by a lot of work. Initially the Government and some professional NGOs were against the introduction of this institute. However the approaches gradually changed and this shows that consistent and constructive work of the professional civil society organization with the Government may result in achieving significant changes. Criminalization of illicit enrichment, in particular, is considered as one of the most important tools for fight against corruption of the representatives of “elite” or senior officials. But it is not merely one article of the Criminal Code, but an entire system.”

The draft provides that as a result of proof of the crime of illegal enrichment the officials would be sentenced to imprisonment for the term of 3-6 years. In reply to the question whether it is a mild or severe punishment for the officials who have illegally enriched, our interlocutor referred to the international practice. “There are different conceptual approaches referring to establishing criminal liability for corruption offenses. For example, according to one approach, the sentence must be very severe (death penalty or mandatory term of imprisonment with confiscation of property). Another approach is more lenient punishment (not prolonged imprisonment, no compulsory confiscation of property or application of penalties” Mr. Atovmyan said. He stressed that here the sentence is not so important as constant implementation of the principle of inevitability of punishment by law and through the court, and mandatory confiscation of property acquired as a result of corruption, which would have a preventive effect. “As Captain Zheglov from the well-known film was saying ‘a thief should sit in jail’,” Mr. Atovmyan added.

In reply to the question what should be done so that this institution shall not remain a draft but work effectively, Mr. Atovmyan said, “This requires strong political will, ability of the law enforcement bodies to conduct such cases as well as professional and harmonious work of all the sections relating to the identification of illicit enrichment. Participation of the citizens, civil society organizations and mass media shall have active participation in this as well.”

Iravaban.net

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