Process of disposing of gifts becoming state property — Representatives of state bodies and CSOs hold discussion

Advisor to the Minister of Justice Elina Geghamyan delivered welcoming remarks and a speech at the Government-civil society organisations (CSO) discussion on "The process of disposing of gifts becoming the property of the State and the community: The existing problems and envisaged regulations".

Elina Geghamyan presented the latest legislative amendments for disposition of gifts becoming the property of the State, as well as the regulations provided for by the secondary legislative acts developed by the Ministry of Justice, emphasising that the proposed regulations clearly establish the grounds and the procedure for choosing each method of disposing of the gift, the scope of the competent authorities which shall provide professional opinions on certain issues. According to the Advisor to the Minister, this discussion and the preceding focus group discussions on the institution of gifts received by public servants and persons holding public positions are very important, and the comments and suggestions made during these discussions are continuously reflected in the laws and secondary legislative acts that are developed.

The participants of the discussion spoke out about the importance of transparency and predictability in the process of disposing of gifts, ensuring of public oversight over this process, effective control over compliance with the ban on acceptance of gifts, and public awareness about the institution of gifts, and broadly speaking, anti-corruption education.

The discussion was organised by the Ministry of Justice, the Armenian Lawyers' Association NGO, the CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia and the Multi-Faceted OGP Action: Open Justice & Anti-Corruption Commitments on E-Courts & Gift Registry Project.