There Are 'Principled' Candidates Who Represent the Previous 'Failed' Government's Ethics 'Failed' Commission: Hovhannisyan

Former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Arpine Hovhannisyan writes on her Facebook page: “Today, the issue of appointing members to the Anti-Corruption Commission was discussed in parliament, and by the end of this week, the first composition of the commission will finally be clarified (if, of course, the vote is not disrupted in accordance with the already established tradition). To understand whether the commission will become the institutional basis for fighting corruption, it is important to know the whole process that preceded the formation of the commission.

• The law on the 'Anti-Corruption Commission' was adopted back in 2017 and defined the procedure for the formation of the commission involving a competitive commission.

• After the change of power, despite the clear legislative deadlines for forming the commission, the country remained without a commission for about a year and a half, and thus also without a proper declaration system. The situation even reached the point where the authorities adopted an unconstitutional law to resurrect dead legal norms as a solution to the created situation. Many international organizations have repeatedly raised the issues arising from the lack of the commission.

• One year after the change of power - in June of this year - the ruling force finally began the formation of the commission, reshaping its composition according to its personnel bank and political expediency. The procedure for forming the commission underwent significant changes, the most important of which was that the competitive commission was abolished, and the commission was formed entirely as a result of a political process. In addition, the requirements imposed on commission members were significantly lowered, eliminating the need for recognition, professional experience, and meeting age requirements, while the requirements for work experience were halved. As I mentioned some time ago, I will insist again that in this way, the new authorities are legislatively eliminating what they themselves do not have: experience, recognition in professional circles, and military service - the list goes on.

It should be noted that the previous legislative regulations were developed with strict consideration of international standards. Thus, in numerous documents related to Armenia, the OECD has emphasized that the commission should be formed through inclusive, transparent, and non-partisan processes. Moreover, referring to the latest legislative regulations, the Venice Commission specifically referenced the mandate of the OECD and the standards it proposes.

However, what do we have now?

• Three of the five members of the commission are nominated by the Government, the 'My Step' coalition, and the Supreme Judicial Council. Considering that the separation of powers in Armenia is almost a non-operational principle and none of the aforementioned bodies has the authority to express independent will, it turns out that in the semi-empty hall of the National Assembly, without lengthy discussions, the approval of the three candidates from the ruling power is given. This is for a body that should be the least political.

• In accordance with the lowered requirements, candidates have been nominated who would not have been nominated if the requirements had not changed. Without questioning or discussing any candidate's professional qualifications (for example, it is said that Lilit Aleksanyan and Haykuhi Harutyunyan are good candidates), it should be noted that the nomination of candidates became possible after the legislative changes. Furthermore, it is interesting that there are 'principled' candidates who represent the previous 'failed' government's ethics 'failed' commission, but even in this case, they received the trust of the ruling force. Perhaps the secret lies in the representatives of the new authorities liking their posts.

Here arises the question: can there be an institutional body against corruption when the entire history of its formation is indicative of a destructive process, reliance solely on temporary solutions, and a lack of vision in combating corruption?