OF THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter referred to as “the Ministry”) is a republican body of the executive branch that shall develop and implement the policy of the Government of the Republic of Armenia in the spheres reserved to the Ministry’s jurisdiction by law, other legal acts and this Statute.
2. The Ministry shall be established, reorganised, and its activities shall be terminated by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Armenia.
3. The authorities of the Ministry shall be defined by laws, Decrees and Executive Orders of the President of the Republic of Armenia and Decrees of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, as well as by international treaties of the Republic of Armenia.
4. The Ministry shall carry out its activities in conformity with the legislation and other legal acts of the Republic of Armenia.
5. The Ministry has a round seal, forms, a symbol and other identification means bearing the representation of the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Armenia and with the inscription of the title of the Ministry in Armenian.
6. The Ministry shall consist of the Minister and the staff of the Ministry. State non-commercial organisations and institutions reserved to the jurisdiction of the Ministry shall be included into the system of the Ministry.
7. The objects and tasks of the Ministry shall be the following:
(7.1) providing assistance in developing the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and systematisation of the legislation of the Republic of Armenia in the manner prescribed by law;
(7.2) (subpoint (7.2) repealed by No. 920-N of 16 August 2007);
(7.3) (subpoint (7.3) repealed by No. 920-N of 16 August 2007);
(7.4) carrying out functions of registration of civil status acts;
(7.5) organisation of notarial activities;
(7.6) providing functions of state registration of legal persons being established in the territory of the Republic of Armenia - with the exception of banks and credit organisations - and sole entrepreneurs; record keeping of separate subdivisions and institutions of legal persons, as well as record keeping of mass media in the prescribed manner.
(7.7) ensuring exercise of supervision over the activities of non-governmental unions and other organisations provided for by law, as well as over the activities of mass media in cases and as prescribed by law;
(7.8) ensuring the exercise of supervision over licensing of insolvency administrators and fulfilment of the requirements of the license;
(7.9) ensuring the involvement in the activities of providing legal background to the international relations of the Republic of Armenia and legal protection of the interests of the Republic of Armenia in interstate relations, as well as representation of the interests of the Government of the Republic of Armenia before the European Court of Human Rights;
(7.10) ensuring the implementation of forensic analysis within the system of the Ministry;
(7.11) ensuring the implementation of powers reserved to the Ministry by the penitentiary legislation of the Republic of Armenia;
(7.12) ensuring compulsory enforcement of judicial acts of the Republic of Armenia;
(7.13) ensuring implementation of other tasks envisaged by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.
(Point 7 supplemented by No. 1789-N of 25 November 2004, edited by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006, amended by No. 920-N of 16 August 2008)

II. FUNCTIONS OF THE MINISTRY

8. With a view to implementing its objects and tasks, the Ministry shall perform the following functions in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia:
(8.1) state legal examination and state registration of normative legal acts in accordance with the law;
(8.2) implementation of official translation of legal acts in accordance with the law;
(8.3) organisation of publication of periodicals "Official Journal of the Republic of Armenia", “Journal of Departmental Normative Acts of the Republic of Armenia” and "Journal of Legal Acts of Yerevan Quarter Communities” in accordance with the law;
(8.4) organisation of official republication of legislative, departmental, judicial acts and legal acts of local self-government bodies, as well as of international treaties of the Republic of Armenia in accordance with the law;
(8.5) official incorporation of legislative, departmental acts or legal acts of local self-government bodies;
(8.6) record keeping and systematisation of acts of local self-government bodies and departmental normative acts;
8.7) record keeping, systematisation and maintenance of official copies of legal acts in accordance with the law;
(8.8) exercising supervision over notarial or other acts, approval of directives on execution of notarial acts;
(8.9) registration of the statute of the notarial chamber;
(8.10) (subpoint (8.10) repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
(8.11) providing a notary with a seal bearing the representation of the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Armenia;
(8.12) administering punishments imposed by court as envisaged by the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter referred to as “punishments”) in accordance with the penitentiary legislation of the Republic of Armenia;
(8.13) exercising control over the performance of duties imposed by the court on persons released on parole and on convicts granted conditional application of punishment;
(8.14) detention of persons on the grounds and in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law;
(8.15) maintenance of penitentiary institutions, transportation of convicts serving penalty in the form of imprisonment, and detainees;
(8.16) ensuring law and order in penitentiary institutions, as well as providing guarantees to convicts and detainees for enjoying their rights and freedoms;
(8.17) ensuring security of persons kept in penitentiary institutions, the personnel thereof, and other persons therein;
(8.18) ensuring proper conditions for the protection of the life and health of convicts and detainees, and for their personal and intellectual development;
(8.19) organisation of activities aimed at social-psychological rehabilitation of convicts;
(8.20) providing development of material-technical and social conditions of penitentiary institutions and authorities;
(8.21) ensuring employment of convicts and detainees;
(8.22) considering written recommendations and applications of citizens (including foreign nationals and stateless persons) and of legal persons in accordance with the law, as well as taking measures aimed at elimination of imperfections existing in the activities of institutions and organisations within the system of the Ministry as reported in the letters of citizens;
(8.23) (subpoint (8.23) repealed by No. 920-N of 16 August 2007);
(8.24) (subpoint (8.24) repealed by No. 920-N of 16 August 2007);
(8.25) (subpoint (8.25) repealed by No. 920-N of 16 August 2007);
(8.26) participation in execution of letters of request from courts in accordance with the requirements of treaties on legal assistance between the Republic of Armenia and other states;
(8.27) submitting observations and recommendations with respect to international, interstate or intergovernmental treaties in accordance with the law;
(8.28) rendering an opinion with respect to a contradiction or absence thereof between the provisions of international treaties and the legislation of the Republic of Armenia in accordance with the law;
(8.29) state registration of civil status acts, approval of directives on performing state registration acts in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia;
(8.30) approval of directives on performing acts of state registration of legal persons - with the exception of banks and credit organisations - being established in the territory of the Republic of Armenia and sole entrepreneurs, on record keeping of separate subdivisions and institutions of legal persons, as well as on record keeping of mass media in the prescribed manner;
(8.31) exercising supervision over the activities of non-governmental unions and other organisations provided for by the law, as well as over the activities of mass media in cases and in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law;
(8.32) ensuring the exercise of supervision over licensing of insolvency administrators and fulfilment of the requirements of the license;
(8.33) maintaining a register of insolvent undertakings;
(8.34) ensuring the compulsory enforcement of judicial acts of the courts of the Republic of Armenia, as well as of judgments of mediation courts and of foreign arbitral awards;
(8.35) introduction of relevant administrative statistical reports (questionnaires, references, etc.) in accordance with the law and other legal acts, and maintenance of an administrative statistical registry based on data and information collected thereby;
(8.35.1) supervision over the process of implementing court decisions binding the Government of the Republic of Armenia;
(8.36) performance of other functions provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.
(Point 8 supplemented by No. 1789-N of 25 November 2004, amended, edited and supplemented by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006, amended by No. 920-N of 16 August 2007)

III. MANAGEMENT OF THE MINISTRY

9. The Ministry shall be managed by the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter referred to as “the Minister”) who is appointed to and removed from office by the President of the Republic of Armenia upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. The Minister shall have deputies who are appointed to and removed from office by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia upon consultation with the Minister. In the course of the Minister’s activities the Minister shall be guided by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the laws of the Republic of Armenia, this Statute, other legal acts and international treaties of the Republic of Armenia.
10. The Minister shall implement tasks and functions reserved to the Ministry and shall be responsible for policy development and implementation, for the current situation in the spheres under the jurisdiction of the Ministry and for the prospective development thereof.
11. The Minister shall be accountable to the President of the Republic of Armenia, to the Government of the Republic of Armenia and to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia.
12. The Minister:
(12.1) shall adopt and publish departmental legal acts in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law and within the scope of his/her competences;
(12.2) shall manage the current activities of the Ministry, shall be responsible for performance of tasks and functions set for the Ministry;
(12.3) shall submit recommendations to the Government of the Republic of Armenia with respect to areas of activity, goals and tasks prescribed by law, other legal acts and this Statute;
(12.4) shall issue orders and give instructions within the scope of his/her competences, shall act on behalf of the Republic of Armenia or the Ministry without an authorisation, and shall issue authorisations for acting on behalf of the Republic of Armenia or the Ministry including authorisations with the power of reauthorisation;
(12.5) shall make designations to the posts of civil or other services in the Ministry and shall apply incentive measures and impose disciplinary sanctions on them in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia;
(12.6) shall appoint to and remove from office his/her advisors, the press secretary and assistants;
(12.7) shall appoint to and remove from office notaries in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law;
(12.8) shall define the scope of competences of structural subdivisions of the staff of the Ministry in accordance with the law and this Statute;
(12.9) shall define the division of labour between his/her deputies;
(12.10) shall, within the scope of his/her authorities prescribed by law and this Statute, suspend or repeal those orders, directives, letters of assignment, executive orders and instructions of the deputies, the chief of the staff of the Ministry, heads of separate subdivisions of the staff of the Ministry, as well as of heads of state non-commercial organisations reserved to the jurisdiction of the Ministry that contradict the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Armenia;
(12.11) shall hear and submit the annual report on the activities of the staff of the Ministry and the annual balance sheet to the Government of the Republic of Armenia for approval, shall review the findings of inspection of the activities thereof, shall approve and discharge the estimate of the annual maintenance expenses of the staff of the Ministry, as well as approve the results of audit of authenticity of financial statements;
(12.12) shall exercise supervision over the maintenance and alienation of state property attached to the staff of the Ministry;
(12.13) shall submit the Statute of the Ministry and the structure of the staff to the Government of the Republic of Armenia for approval;
(12.14) shall submit the number of employees of the Ministry to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia for approval;
(12.15) shall award classification ranks of the Republic of Armenia in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law;
(12.16) shall establish consultative bodies;
(12.17) shall exercise other authorities envisaged by law, other legal acts and this Statute.
(Point 12 amended by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
13. In the absence of the Minister one of the Deputy Ministers shall perform the duties of the Minister upon the assignment of the latter.
14. The Deputy Minister:
(14.1) shall, in the spheres assigned to him/her, coordinate the activities of the system of the Ministry with respect to the implementation of the policy reserved to it;
(14.2) shall, within the scope of his/her authorities and through structural and separate subdivisions of the staff of the Ministry, coordinate the activities necessary for ensuring the policy of the Ministry in the spheres assigned to the Deputy Minister by giving instructions and assignments;
(14.3) shall, in conformity with the objects and tasks of the Ministry and in the spheres assigned to him/her, prescribe certain assignments and tasks to the bodies within the system of the Ministry and supervise implementation thereof;
(14.4) shall, upon the assignment of the Minister, conduct preliminary discussions of issues to be discussed with the Minister;
(14.5) shall coordinate the operational analysis of professional studies and progress of work implemented by the bodies within the system of the Ministry in the spheres assigned to him/her;
(14.6) shall, within the scope of his/her authorities, cooperate with state administration and other bodies, organisations and institutions;
(14.7) shall, in the spheres assigned to him/her, coordinate the activities of developing and implementing relevant development programmes;
(14.8) shall regularly submit information to the Minister about the current situation in the spheres assigned to him/her;
(14.9) shall, in the spheres assigned to him/her, ensure supervision over the implementation of orders and instructions of the Minister and shall inform the latter about the results;
(14.10) shall submit recommendations to the Minister and the Chief of Staff with regard to issues concerning the competences thereof;
(14.11) shall perform other functions upon the assignment of the Minister.
15. The Minister shall have advisors, a press secretary and assistants.
16. The Advisors to the Minister:
(16.1) shall draw up their work plans by coordinating them with the Minister;
(16.2) shall regularly submit to the Minister reports, relevant analytical materials on the current situation, phenomena and occurrences in the spheres assigned to them and shall give recommendations with regard to solution of the existing problems;
(16.3) shall organise reception of citizens;
(16.4) shall, upon the assignment of the Minister, participate in discussions on issues concerning the spheres assigned to them held in state and local self-government bodies and in organisations;
(16.5) may, upon the decision of the Minister, head the activities of consultative bodies adjunct to the Minister or take part in their work;
(16.6) shall, upon the assignment of the Minister, convene conference meetings, organise discussions of issues assigned to them;
(16.7) shall carry out other assignments given by the Minister.
17. The assistant of the Minister shall provide organisational, informational and technical assistance to the Minister. The assistant of the Minister:
(17.1) shall, by coordinating with the Minister, organise the preparation of the work plans of current and perspective activities of the Minister and submit them to the Minister;
(17.2) shall organise the preparation of conference meetings, meetings, visits and trips of the Minister;
(17.3) shall prepare info-analytical materials for the Minister in cooperation with employees of structural subdivisions of the staff of the Ministry;
(17.4) shall develop and submit to the Minister recommendations on work plans;
(17.5) shall carry out other assignments given by the Minister.
18. The press secretary of the Minister:
(18.1) shall present official standpoints of the Minister to the mass media of the Republic of Armenia and of foreign countries;
(18.2) shall hold press-conferences and briefings;
(18.3) shall present to the Minister recommendations and analyses on planning and implementing his/her activities and follow their implementation after coordinating them with the Minister;
(18.4) shall organise the Minister’s interviews, press-conferences and meetings with the representatives of the press and other mass media;
(18.5) shall, upon the assignment of the Minister, make statements, give clarifications, and make refutations;
(18.6) shall carry out other assignments given by the Minister.
19. The advisors to the Minister and the press secretary of the Minister shall, in the course of performance of functions and assignments prescribed by the Minister, cooperate with each other, with the Chief of Staff of the Ministry, the deputies of the latter and the heads of structural subdivisions of the staff of the Ministry.

IV. THE STAFF OF THE MINISTRY

20. The object and task of the staff of the Ministry is to ensure the complete and effective performance of authorities reserved to the Ministry (including agencies and inspectorates functioning within its structure) by laws, other legal acts and this Statute, as well as to ensure the participation of the Ministry in civil law relations.
21. The staff of the Ministry is a state administration institution without a status of a legal person which shall, in accordance with the procedure defined by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, be subject to registration by the authority carrying out state registration of legal persons.
22. The staff of the Ministry shall function in accordance with the Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia, the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On State Administration Institutions”, other laws and legal acts, the international treaties of the Republic of Armenia and this Statute.
23. The staff of the Ministry may, within the scope of its competence, acquire and exercise property rights and personal non-property rights, bear responsibilities, act as a plaintiff or defendant in court on behalf of the Republic of Armenia.
24. The staff of the Ministry shall have a round seal, forms, a symbol and other identification means bearing the representation of the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Armenia and with the inscription of its title in Armenian.
25. The staff of the Ministry shall have a separate balance sheet.
26. The staff of the Ministry may not engage in entrepreneurial activities. Only state fee may be levied for the functions performed and the services delivered by the staff of the Ministry in the amount and in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law.
27. The staff of the Ministry shall perform its financial operations through the state treasury system. Procurements for the maintenance needs of the staff of the Ministry, as well as procurements within the framework of budgetary programmes reserved to the jurisdiction of the Ministry, shall be made in accordance with the procedure defined by the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Procurements”.
28. The responsibility for the obligations of the staff of the Ministry shall rest with the Republic of Armenia.
29. The title of the staff of the Ministry shall be "Staff of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia" State Administration Institution.
30. The staff of the Ministry shall be located at the following address: 3, Vazgen Sargsyan street, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia.

V. PROPERTY OF THE STAFF OF THE MINISTRY
31. The property of the staff of the Ministry, which shall be entered in its balance sheet, shall, in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law, be formed of the property (including property rights) acquired by the Republic of Armenia or by the staff of the Ministry through transactions entered into on behalf of the Republic of Armenia and assigned to the possession, disposition and use of the staff of the Ministry. Upon the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Armenia the staff of the Ministry may be reserved a right of holding government stocks or shares.
32. The Government of the Republic of Armenia shall have the right to take possession of the property of the staff of the Ministry any time.
33. The staff of the Ministry shall have the right to use, dispose of and possess its property in compliance with its activity goals and with the property’s intended purpose in cases and by the procedure defined by law, other legal acts and its statute.

VI. THE STRUCTURE OF THE STAFF OF THE MINISTRY

34. The structure of the staff of the Ministry shall comprise its structural subdivisions (departments, divisions, and secretariat) and separate subdivisions (agencies, inspectorates).
35. The Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia shall approve the statutes of structural subdivisions of the staff of the Ministry.
36. Statutes of separate subdivisions of the staff of the Ministry shall be approved by the Government of the Republic of Armenia upon submission thereof by the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia.
37. A separate subdivision of the staff of the Ministry shall be a body that delivers services, performs supervisory functions and imposes sanctions provided for by law and, in separate cases, also by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.
38. A separate subdivision of the staff of the Ministry shall also perform separate functions of the staff of the Ministry or a part thereof and shall act on behalf of the Republic of Armenia.
39. A separate subdivision of the staff of the Ministry shall have the right to acquire and exercise property rights and personal non-property rights, bear responsibilities, act as a plaintiff or defendant in court on behalf of the Republic of Armenia.
40. A separate subdivision of the staff of the Ministry shall have a round seal, forms, a symbol and other identification means bearing the representation of the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Armenia and with the inscription of its title in Armenian.

VII. MANAGEMENT OF THE STAFF OF THE MINISTRY

41. The management of the staff of the Ministry shall be carried out by the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Minister within the scope of competences reserved to them by law and this Statute. The staff of the Ministry shall be headed by the Chief of Staff of the Ministry.
42. The Government of the Republic of Armenia:
(42.1) shall reorganise and terminate the activities of the staff of the Ministry;
(42.2) shall approve the statute of the staff of the Ministry and amendments thereto;
(42.3) shall determine the composition and size of the property provided to the staff of the Ministry;
(42.4) shall approve the structure of the staff of the Ministry;
(42.5) shall exercise other authorities reserved to it by the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Armenia.
43. The Chief of Staff of the Ministry shall, within the scope of authorities reserved to him/her by law, other legal acts, Decisions of the Minister and this Statute, head the current activities of the staff of the Ministry and bear responsibility for failure to fulfil and for improper fulfilment of requirements of laws, other legal acts, Decrees of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, Decisions of the Minister and this Statute.
44. The Chief of Staff of the Ministry shall, by the procedure defined by law, bear responsibility in rem for the damage caused to the state at his/her fault. Termination of authorities of the Chief of Staff of the Ministry shall not be a ground for not fulfilling the obligation to compensate the damage caused.
45. The Chief of Staff of the Ministry shall be obligated not to execute the decisions, executive orders, orders and directives of the founder and the Minister that contradict the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.
46. In case of absence of the Chief of Staff of the Ministry one of his/her deputies shall substitute him/her upon the order of the Minister.
47. The Chief of Staff of the Ministry:
(47.1) shall, within the scope of his/her competences and without an authorisation, act on behalf of the Republic of Armenia and represent its interests and shall, within the scope of his/her authorities, act as a plaintiff or defendant in court, issue authorisations for administering a case in court and taking procedural steps.
(47.2) shall, by the procedure defined by law, other legal acts, the founder’s statute and this Statute, dispose of the state property, including financial resources, attached to the institution;
(47.3) shall, within the framework of his/her competences, issue authorisations to act on behalf of the Republic of Armenia, including authorisations with the power of reauthorisation;
(47.3.1) shall ensure - within the staff - the performance of functions in relation to the management of the personnel envisaged by the civil service legislation and other legal acts of the Republic of Armenia;
(47.4) shall, within the scope of his/her authorities defined by law and this Statute, appoint to and remove from office (position) the employees of the staff of the Ministry, shall apply incentive measures and impose disciplinary sanctions on them;
(47.5) shall, within the scope of his/her authorities defined by law, other legal acts and this Statute, issue orders and binding instructions;
(47.6) shall submit the annual accounts and the annual balance sheet of the staff to the Minister for approval, shall ensure the maintenance of book-keeping of the staff of the Ministry, preparation and submission of financial statements; shall submit to the Minister for approval the estimate of the annual maintenance expenses of the staff of the Ministry, as well as the actual accounts for discharge, the annual financial statements and the annual balance sheet; shall take measures aimed at elimination of financial infractions revealed by controls;
(47.7) shall present to the Minister recommendations on main directions of activities of the staff of the Ministry;
(47.8) shall organise the preparation work for drawing up the draft budget of the Ministry and ensure the execution of budget expenditures;
(47.9) shall organise the conduct of discussions and consultations in the Ministry;
(47.10) shall supervise the process of activities carried out within specified time frames by the staff of the Ministry;
(47.11) shall submit the Orders of the Minister to the Minister for signature;
(47.12) shall ensure cooperation with the staff of other state bodies of the Republic of Armenia;
(47.13) shall organise office work and maintenance of the Ministry;
(47.14) shall exercise other authorities provided for by law, other legal acts and this Statute.
(Point 47 supplemented by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
48. The chief financier of the staff of the Ministry shall be responsible for the maintenance of book-keeping and timely preparation of financial, budgetary, tax, statistical and mandatory payments reports of the staff of the Ministry.

VIII. BOOK-KEEPING AND REPORTS

49. The staff of the Ministry shall, by the procedure defined by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, maintain book-keeping and shall submit financial, tax, customs, mandatory payment and statistical reports, estimations and declarations to relevant authorities.
50. The authenticity of annual financial reports on activities of the staff of the Ministry may be subject to auditing by the procedure defined by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.

IX. PREPARATION OF LISTS OF COMPETENCE AND PROMOTION OF JUDGES

51. (Point 51 edited by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006, repealed by No. 920-N of 16 August 2007)
52. (Point 52 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
53. (Point 53 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
54. (Point 54 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
55. (Point 55 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
56. (Point 56 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
57. (Point 57 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
58. (Point 58 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
59. (Point 59 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
60. (Point 60 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
61. (Point 61 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
62. (Point 62 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
63. (Point 63 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
64. (Point 64 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
65. (Point 65 repealed by No. 1542-N of 2 November 2006)
66. (Point 66 repealed by No. 920-N of 16 August 2007)
67. (Point 67 repealed by No. 920-N of 16 August 2007)
(Chapter IX repealed by No. 920-N of 16 August 2007)

X. REORGANISATION AND TERMINATION OF ACTIVITIES OF THE STAFF OF THE MINISTRY

68. The procedure and terms for the reorganisation and termination of activities of the staff of the Ministry shall be defined by law.