The NSS and Police Are Not Policy Makers, They Are Implementers: Vladimir Vardanyan

During a press briefing at the National Assembly, Vladimir Vardanyan, the chairman of the legal issues commission of the "My Step" faction, spoke about the initiative proposed by the "Enlightened Armenia" faction. The draft law is about turning the positions of the Chief of Police and the Director of the NSS into political offices.

According to Vardanyan, the reason the draft was rejected is that it offered non-institutional solutions. When asked why they voted in favor of it in the first reading, the lawmaker responded that there is a significant need for serious reforms in the security sector. "Solutions must be constitutional and such that do not undermine the system," said Vardanyan, adding that the proposed solutions are problematic as they raise issues regarding constitutionality and may eliminate internal cohesion in the system.

"We have concluded that work in this direction must continue; we need to reform both the NSS and the police, and I believe our partners in these systems also share this opinion," the lawmaker stated.

According to Vardanyan, situational solutions are not needed in these sectors; institutional solutions are needed that will ensure that eventually we have a police force and NSS that meet European standards. However, in their current form and text, the changes, especially considering the proposals voiced by Marukyan regarding amendments to the National Assembly regulations, are unacceptable and would not result in any positive changes.

In his opinion, it is crucial to understand what the status of these bodies will be, and it is necessary to ensure that constitutional arrangements are not circumvented. Because the Prime Minister's proposal allows the President to appoint the chief of police and the NSS director, if the military status requirement for these positions is removed, then constitutionally, the President would not be able to make appointments.

According to Vardanyan, this further emphasizes the super-prime ministerial system. "The development of political policy in this area is reserved for the government. These bodies are not policy makers; they are implementers of policy," Vardanyan said, adding that nonetheless, they are not opposed to raising the level of parliamentary oversight in this area.

The lawmaker noted that they genuinely wanted to find a solution but could not find the best one, not because they did not wish to, but simply because it does not exist.