Amnesty Law Takes Effect Today

Dear compatriots,

The law on declaring amnesty for those who evaded conscription for mandatory military or alternative service has come into force as of today. It should be noted that the amnesty applies to individuals who have reached the age of 27 in the active military service and 35 in the reserve officer corps, who have evaded mandatory military or alternative service and are suspected, charged, or convicted under Article 327, parts 1 or 3 of the RA Criminal Code (only if the act specified in part 1 of the same article was committed during a state of war).

In order to make the application of the amnesty law clearer and more predictable for our compatriots, we present some practical clarifications below:

1. If you are wanted and have been selected for pre-trial detention, you must enter the territory of the RA (including December 31, 2021) and, after entry, you will be briefly detained and brought before the investigating authority. In a short time, the investigating authority will resolve the issue of lifting or changing the preventive measure applied to you, allowing you the opportunity to be released from detention and remain at liberty. If you comply with the requirements of the amnesty law, the competent authority will apply the amnesty to you.
2. If you are serving a sentence in a penitentiary institution, the question of applying the amnesty law will be resolved by the head of the relevant penitentiary institution of the Ministry of Justice of the RA.
3. If you have been sentenced to a non-custodial penalty (for example, a fine) or have been conditionally released from serving a sentence, and your behavior is being monitored, the question of applying the amnesty law will be resolved by the probation service of the Ministry of Justice of the RA.
4. If your case is in the general jurisdiction of the first instance court or the appellate criminal court of the RA, but has not been reviewed before the amnesty law came into force, or if it was reviewed but the verdict has not entered into legal force, the question of applying the amnesty law will be resolved by the respective first instance general jurisdiction and appellate criminal courts of the RA.
5. If your sentence has not been conditionally applied or has been deferred, the question of applying the amnesty law will be resolved by the court based on a request from the competent authority monitoring your behavior.
6. If your cassation complaint has been accepted for review by the Court of Cassation of the Republic of Armenia, the question of applying the amnesty law will be resolved by the Court of Cassation of the RA.
7. If you have been sentenced by the courts of the RA but are serving your sentence outside the borders of the RA, the question of applying the amnesty law will be resolved by the appellate criminal court of the RA.

In each of the described situations, the amnesty will only be applied if the requirements of the amnesty law are met.

According to the amnesty law, amnesty does not apply to:

1. Persons who were wanted before the law came into force, except for those who voluntarily present themselves to the criminal prosecution authorities or to the court if the case is in court by December 31, 2021.
2. Persons for whom the sentence imposed has been reduced during the last ten years under a decree of the President on pardon or based on a law on declaring amnesty or an act of amnesty from the National Assembly, and who may thereafter be charged or convicted under Article 327, parts 1 or 3 of the RA Criminal Code.
3. Persons who committed the offense specified in Article 327, parts 1 or 3 of the RA Criminal Code during the probation period imposed by a different case related to conditional early release or non-application of the sentence.

Information and Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Justice of the RA