ODIHR Legal Reviews, Assessments and Guidelines

Opinion

• Annex to the Opinion on the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Armenia on Political Parties (in English) [ 2019/10/11 | en | ]
• Opinion on the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Armenia on Political Parties (in Armenian) [ 2019/10/11 | en | ]
• Opinion on the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Armenia on Political Parties (in English) [ 2019/10/11 | en | ] Summary

  Summary: At the outset, OSCE/ODIHR welcomes that the legal framework currently in place in Armenia implements several recommendations made in the OSCE/ODIHR-Venice Commission Joint Opinion on the Draft Constitutional Law on Political Parties of Armenia of 2016. If adequately implemented, many aspects of the Law can contribute to greater autonomy for political parties and to levelling the playing field among them. However, significant shortcomings are apparent, in particular, in the area of monitoring and oversight of political party finances, which is a vital part of any functioning legal framework in the area of political parties. Additionally, it should be ensured that a catalogue of proportionate sanctions is applicable in cases of violations of the Law.

• Joint Opinion on the Draft Constitutional Law on Political Parties of Armenia (in English) [ 2016/12/12 | en | ] Summary

  Summary: The Joint Opinion comments the aim of the draft law to liberalise the formation and registration of political parties in Armenia and the envisaged changes in regard to territorial and membership requirements. However, while the law may create a legal backdrop for improving internal democracy, the Joint Opinion cautions that regulating intra-party organisation excessively may not be useful for achieving such. In particular, it is recommended to consider reducing the number of provisions on internal procedures and functioning of political parties, to improve the rules on donations to political parties, to clarify the rules concerning the suspension of political parties, to consider including further measures to promote gender equality and diversity within internal party structures, to consider providing opportunities for non-party candidates to be included in party lists, to equip the Audit and Oversight Service with additional powers to ensure transparent reporting by all contestants.