A Cabinet sitting was held, chaired by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan. Before proceeding to the agenda, the Prime Minister issued a number of instructions.
The Premier’s first instruction concerned the prevention of instances of unauthorized sale of products or provision of services to teenagers. The Prime Minister instructed the Ministers of Justice, Economic Development and Investments, Healthcare, Territorial Administration and Development, the State Committee for Urban Development, the Chief of Police and proposed that the Yerevan Mayor jointly develop and submit to the Government Staff within a two-month period proposals for applying tougher sanctions for the sale of tobacco products, alcoholic beverages and similar products to teenagers, and for the admission of teenagers to venues of entertainment prohibited for persons under the age of eighteen, as well as clarify the functions of the authorized entity.
The Premier’s next instruction was about construction permits. The Head of Government stated in part, “We need to improve the process of granting construction permits, simplify administration and increase the degree of accessibility. The 2018 Doing Business report refers to the problems encountered in the field of building permits. The current state of affairs has a negative impact on the development of construction industry in general.”
Karen Karapetyan instructed the Minister of Territorial Administration and Development, the Chairman of the State Committee for Urban Development, and proposed that the Mayor of Yerevan jointly develop and submit to the Government Staff by mid-December proposals for simplifying the issuance of construction permits, introducing effective electronic instruments, as well as for setting reasonable control mechanisms.
The Executive approved a number of legislative initiatives of the Government of the Republic of Armenia. In particular, the proposed amendments and additions to the RA Family Code and related laws are expected to bring the Family Code into conformity with the applicable international standards. As a result, more effective measures will be implemented against the infringement of children’s rights, and the process of child adoption will be streamlined.
The passing of a package of draft amendments to the laws on prevention of family violence, protection of persons subjected to family violence, restoration of family cohesion and related laws will provide the organizational-legal basis for combating family violence, protecting and ensuring the safety of persons subjected to violence, allowing wider access to justice, providing psychological, legal, social assistance and material support, if necessary. The amendments are supposed to reduce the level of latent violence in families, streamline functions and cooperation between State agencies and non-governmental organizations in the field of prevention and fight against domestic violence.
The primary goal of the bill is to clarify and coordinate the efforts aimed at preventing family violence. Justice Minister David Haroutunyan reiterated that the package does not provide any new grounds for deprivation or restriction of parental rights, as well as any ground that can undermine the traditional family values.
“The law has been repeatedly discussed at different platforms. A number of serious improvements have been made to the first version of the bill; some controversial issues have been addressed. For example, it will be impossible to take a minor from the family to the asylum without a parent. We have fixed it positively to counter the groundless criticism that is frequently heard about this law,” the Minister said.
The proposed amendments to the statutory law “On Constitutional Court,” as well as to the law “On Social Guarantees for Public Officials” and related laws provide for Constitutional Court’s effective functioning as a specialized body of constitutional oversight, clarify the Constitutional Court’s terms of reference, create necessary preconditions for strengthening democracy by preventing and eliminating anti-constitutionality in the legal system.
The Government adopted a decision “On reducing Armenian Fruit OJSC’s charter capital, transferring assets, and handing over property for free use,” which was developed in compliance with the Prime Minister’s relevant decree. According to the decision, the plot of land, originally granted to Armenian Fruit OJSC in Armavir Marz, will be handed over to Noratunk CJSC for free use over an indefinite period time. A nursery farm will be established on the site, which will have the opportunity to produce thousands of low-yielding seedlings. The Company undertakes to make an investment of 77 million drams within two years after the entry into force of the contract.
The Government further decided to grant the Yerevan Thermal Power Center CJSC a 3-year VAT deferment on imported goods and an exemption from customs duties for technological equipment, components, accessories and raw materials imported under their investment program. Within the framework of the investment program, the Company intends to make a total investment of AMD 10.7 billion for the purchase of equipment. As a result, about 20 new jobs will be provided in 2018-2020 with an average salary of 250 thousand drams.
In conclusion, the Government amended one of its previous decisions with a view to facilitating the applicable visa regime for the citizens of India