Citizens Who Did Not Serve in the Military Can Be Exempt from Criminal Liability: Bill

It has been about two years since the adoption of the law regarding citizens who have not completed military service, authored by Armenian National Assembly member Hayk Sargsyan. Currently, more than 1,200 compatriots living abroad and wanted by authorities, who have turned 27, are not returning to Armenia as they face mandatory imprisonment for 2-5 years with no alternative.

Hayk Sargsyan has proposed a bill to amend the law on “Military Service and the Status of Military Personnel” which aims to address this issue. The matter was discussed at the meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Defense and Security.

Sargsyan clarified that the average cost of maintaining a person in correctional facilities is 437,900 AMD. If returning individuals are sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment, the state budget would then need to spend 15,764,400 AMD for the maintenance of each individual. This means that if all 1,200 citizens voluntarily return and are convicted, the state would need to allocate around 19 billion AMD just to keep them imprisoned.

According to the parliamentarian, the acceptance of this bill would benefit both the state and our compatriots.

The project allows citizens aged 27-37 to be exempted from criminal liability by voluntarily returning to the Republic of Armenia and choosing one of five options:

1. Serve for 24 months,
2. Serve for 12 months and pay 2.5 million AMD to the state budget,
3. Serve for 6 months and pay 5 million AMD to the state budget,
4. Serve for 1 month and pay 10 million AMD to the state budget,
5. Pay 15 million AMD to the state budget instead of military service.

During the Q&A session, Hayk Sargsyan explained that while the current law considers military service to be 18 months, this law pertains to those born in 1999 and 2000 who were required to serve for 24 months, thus they should serve the same duration. This also preserves the principle of fairness for those who served during those years.

The parliamentarian also discussed the regulations regarding unregistered individuals. Currently, after turning 27, unregistered individuals are reporting and expressing their willingness to go for military service. However, upon registration, it often turns out they have already turned 27. Since according to the current law, male citizens aged 18-27 are subject to compulsory military service, they do not go to service, and receive a military record book and passport. Following the adoption of this law, all unregistered individuals who present themselves and register after turning 27 will have to pay 15 million AMD.

The Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Armen Khachatryan, suggested his colleagues vote in favor of the bill. The government has no objections; the proposed regulations are acceptable. This was reported by the Deputy Minister of Defense Arman Sargsyan. The bill has received a positive conclusion from the committee.