On August 25 the Members of European Commission for Democracy through Law met the Members of the RA Parties and NGOs for discussion on the draft amendments to the Constitution of Armenia.
The Board Member of Armenian Young Lawyers Association, Advocate Marat Atovmyan was also present at the meeting.
He raised two questions at the meeting. First, he reported that Article 20 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption adopted by the RA calls the States to criminalize illicit enrichment which implicates the implementation of the presumption of guilt. However, the AYLA Member reported that only the presumption of innocence is fixed in both acting Constitution of Armenia and in amendment Draft: “We think that this factor can be an impediment for further implementation of the criminalization of illicit enrichment,” said Mr. Atovmyan by getting interested from the representatives of the Commission what they thought about that circumstance and if they agree that the presumption of guilt must be also included in the new Draft of Constitution.
There was no substantial answer to this question; the members of the Commission just said that they were aware of the article in which the presumption of innocence in fixed.
Besides, the Advocate mentioned that by the a number of internationally recognized documents by Armenia the human right to work is set but the acting Constitution and the Draft of amendments implement the free choice of employment: “The right to work is not perceived in such a way that the State is resolutely obliged to ensure everybody with work but in European sense, in sense of European Court it implicates two circumstances: the one is that the State must conduct such economic policy which will promote the development of the business and the increase of workplaces; and the second one is that the State must take measures so that the rights of the employees would be ensured,” said the AYLA Member and was interested whether it is expedient to involve this point in the Draft.
The representatives of Venice Commission just answered that the question has very complicated scientific character and needs to be seriously discussed that is why it is hard for them to make definite stance.
On July 22 Armenia Young Lawyers Association sent a letter to the President of the Commission for Constitutional Reforms Gagik Harutyunyan by suggesting to discuss in professional Commission and report the view of the Commission; whether it is expedient:
• to regulate the formation of the Anti-Corruption independent body in Armenia by the new RA Constitutional Draft,
• to regulate the institution criminalizing illicit enrichment in Armenia by the new RA Constitutional Draft.

But there is no answer till today. It turns out that although the Constitutional reforms are announced to be open and transparent through the public discussions but the suggestions by NGO sectors are not received and not discussed as well.
Iravaban.net