Taking into consideration the uniqueness of the functions of the Probation Service, as well as the goals and the functions characteristic to the body implementing works ensuring the security of the society, supporting the administration of criminal justice, the double crime prevention and reduction, the service will function as a separate kind of state service. The necessity of the regulation is conditioned by the goals of the service and the functional peculiarities. The peculiarities of the organization and the activity, the main principles and the problems, the orders and the conditions of turning into service, other relations regarding the service of the Probation Service are regulated by the legislative package.
The legislative package designing amendments and addenda to the law on Probation Service and the enclosed laws was debated at the sitting of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs. The RA Deputy Minister of Justice Levon Balyan presented the main regulations. It was noted that the Probation Service is also noted in the series of the bodies fulfilling the punishment in the Article 13 of the Penal Code. It is proposed to expand the social guarantees of the employees of the Service.
The deputy Lilit Minasyan inquired if the draft was debated with the Council of Strategic Elaboration of the Public Administration Reform, if there wasn’t a proposal to include the draft in the package concerning the state service. Levon Balyan informed that the initiative was debated with all concerned bodies, such proposal had not been.
The Committee Chair Vladimir Vardanyan also spoke about including a civil service system to all state bodies and the policy being pursued in this sphere, agreeing that this kind of service is not in the domain of the civil service system. Levon Balyan clarified that the section implementing assisting functions remains in the civil service system, and exclusively the probation officers pass special service system, ensure the execution of the sentence. According to the Deputy Minister, the equality with other bodies executing sentence is also ensured by this regulation.
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The budgetary allocations will increase by 70 million AMD. It is proposed to introduce attestation system, which will give an opportunity of surcharge to the Probation officer. Levon Balyan noted in response to the question of the deputy Alkhas Ghazaryan and added that taking into consideration the abovementioned, the final calculation of the budget increases will be understandable after the adoption of the draft.
In her co-report the deputy Arpine Davoyan mentioned that the adoption of the package is conditioned by the necessity of the provisions of the programme of the activity measures of the Government for 2021-2026, the strategy of the RA penitentiary and probation sector, the strategy for 2019-2023, the implementation of the proposals of the international structures, as well as the solution of the problems. It was proposed to set a right to military pension for the probation officers by the draft for the unification of the social guarantees being provided to the probation officers and penitentiary officers.
Vladimir Vardanyan highlighted the availability of the component of the integrity checking, touching upon the attestation process of the system officers.
As a result of voting, the legislative package was endorsed by the Committee. It will be proposed to include the debate of the issue in the draft of the agenda of December 5 regular sittings.
National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia
