Mr. Artyom Mesropyan and Ms Lusine Nalbandyan, Lawyer Experts of the Armenian Lawtyers’ Association, and Ms Mariuam Chakhoyan, Member of the State and Legal Committee of the Public Council and President of “Tukhmanuk” NGO, which is member of CSO Anti-Corruption Colaition of Armenia had a working meeting with Mr. Armen Khudaverdyan, Acting Chairperson of the Commission on Ethics of High-Ranking Officials, Mr. Volodya Gasparyan, Acting Secretary of the Commission and Mr. Armen Khachatryan Chief Accountant of the Commission. The meeting was held in the scope of the EU funded “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” Project
At the beginning of the discussion Mr. Khudaverdyan presented the activities of the Ethics Committee, presented the staff number and the extent of their actions.
Artyom Mesropian, a lawyer/expert of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association stated: “For the first time, with our consistent efforts, we have initiated this initiative with the aim of discussing the public sector budget requests with vast layers of the public. Our organization attaches importance to the constructive dialogue with state bodies and revision of budget requests based on the suggestions made. Taking into account that such a format will be used for the first time and is a pilot, it is expected that, in the event of a public response, the government will initiate a legal basis for that process and make it permanent and continuous. “
Lawyer-expert Lusine Nalbandian added: “It’s the first time that there is a requirement to include not only financial, but also target and outcome indicators in the mid-term expenditure plan, clearly demonstrating what the program’s innovation is as compared to the previous year, for which this or that program is targeted.”
The chief accountant of the Commission on Ethics of High-Ranking Officials, Arman Khachatryan, made a presentation, which showed a more co-ordinate expenditures of the programs and their justification. During and after the presentation, the lawyer-experts made a number of observations on the shortcomings of the budget proposal, presenting recommendations.
Other proposals were also presented to improve the mid-term expenditure framework from the point of view of content.
The participants of the meeting noted that the Commission, based on the recommendations, is ready to review and make corrections in the budget application.
