On 22 December, the Anti-Corruption Commission adopted a decision that determines the procedure for recording, transferring and evaluating gifts, maintaining a register of gifts, a list of data to be filled in and published in the register, and the procedure for making changes in the data provided, as well as providing information on cases of violation of restrictions on accepting gifts. This decision has come into force on 1 January.

Iravaban.net talked with Ms Narine Avetisyan, Head of the Control Department of the Public Employee Behavior of the Corruption Prevention Commission.

In December 2022, amendments and additions were made to the law “On Public Service” and articles 29 and 30 of the law are fully devoted to the recording, handing over and evaluation of gifts received by persons holding public positions and public servants while performing their official duties. According to this amendment, the Corruption Prevention Commission became the responsible body to deal with recording, evaluation of gifts, etc.

“The regulations apply to all employees of public authorities; there are no restrictions or exceptions, from high-ranking officials to ordinary civil servants, which means that, all those persons who will receive gifts, in accordance with the law “On Public Service”, while performing official duties. All these are strictly regulated. They will have an obligation to record them in the digital register of gifts, which has not yet been launched, but it will happen in the near future,” Narine Avetisyan notes.

Up to what value can public officials and public servants accept gifts?

“Value is important in the gift registering process. In other words, when we register a gift and then transfer it to the state, this is where the value is important. Gifts subject to registration are gifts in the amount of 60,000 drams or more, as well as periodic cases when a gift is received from the same source 5 or more times. In other words, in the case of registering, the cost of the gift is more decisive, and the admissibility of receiving a gift is already the situation of receipt, and not the cost.”

What are the purposes of registering for gifts received by public officials and public servants?

“Registering of gifts has a wider impact than registering of a gift by a person holding a public office and or a public servant, and it is more aimed at managing corruption risks. Just as during the declaration system, when declarant officials declare their property and ownership, so is in case of gifts, the idea is more about transparency and accountability, when public officials become more accountable and transparent in their actions to the public”

How will gifts received by persons holding public positions and public servants be registered in the register of gifts’?

“At the moment, the registry does not exist yet. Instead of a register, the CPC has developed and implemented a gift registration form. The registry will be a digital system, like the declaration system, with similar opportunity to access. When public servants receive a gift, they will enter the registry for the first time. The relevant department of the Corruption Prevention Commission will confirm that the person entering is a public servant and we will grant them certain permission. The digital registry will already have a field of information about the public servant in separate sections, where it will be completely visible what position the person holds a, since when he has held a position. Further, there will be a field related to the gift: what gift it is, what its value is, from whom it was received, during what event it was received. It is also planned that there will be a field where persons holding public positions or public servants will attach the photo of the gift itself.”

How will public officials and public servants transfer the gifts?

“The Ministry of Justice has developed an amendment to the law, by which both the State Property Management Committee and the State Protocol Service will become a partner, so that the fate of the gifts will be determined in accordance with the law. In other words, if there are gifts that should be handed over to the State Property Committee, they will be disposed of through bargaining, or they will be donations, or they will be handed over to orphanages and nursing homes. The procedures will be more detailed.”

How will gifts received by government officials and employees be assessed?

“There are options for assessing the value of gifts, for example, the evaluation system through online stores; mainly it will be an evaluation of the market value, approximately how much the gift will be worth in the market. There is a separate setting for those gifts that cannot be evaluated through the store. Suppose we have a painting, a work of art, etc., there is a separate regulation for them, which will be evaluated based on expert opinion.

Details in the video

This publication was prepared within the framework of the “Multi-Faceted OGP Action: Open Justice & Anti-Corruption Commitments on E-Courts & Gift Registry” project implemented by the “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” (ALA) NGO with the support of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), funded by the European Union (EU) within the framework of the “EU for Integrity Programme for the Eastern Partnership” Action.

This publication expresses the position of the author, the ALA, which does not necessarily coincide with the position of the OGP and the EU.