The 2014 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices were released on June 25, 2015. According to the report on Armenia the most significant human rights problems in Armenia during the year were systemic corruption and lack of transparency in government, the limited independence of the judiciary, and limitations on the ability of citizens to change their government. Lack of transparency in government impeded the public’s ability to hold officials accountable for their actions. The executive branch continued to subject the courts to political pressure, resulting in some politically motivated prosecutions and sentencing, and the Court of Cassation exercised considerable control over judges’ decisions at all levels. There continued to be reports of vote buying and large-scale abuse of administrative resources by the ruling RPA aimed at sustaining its electoral majorities at both the national and local levels. (See below full citation of Section 4 on corruption).

Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government

The law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, but the government did not implement the law effectively, and many officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. There were numerous reports of government corruption.

Corruption: Although the constitution prohibits individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activity from holding public office, company executives continued to occupy seats in the National Assembly, and various government officials continued to use their offices to promote their private business interests. In the view of many observers, oligarchs linked to the government or holding government posts monopolized the economy. According to civic groups working to address corruption, authorities continued to ignore media and other reports implicating government officials in corrupt practices, an attitude which undermined public trust. Authorities lacked the will to implement anticorruption laws.

In its July report, the CESCR expressed concern about widespread corruption and the limited effectiveness of measures taken to eradicate it. The UN Human Rights Committee raised similar concerns in 2012. Corruption had a significant effect on economic growth. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2013-14 listed corruption as the most problematic factor for doing business in the country.

There were numerous reports of systemic government corruption, including in such activities as urban maintenance, construction, public administration, the judiciary, state procurement and auctions, health care, taxation, law enforcement bodies, and military personnel. There were reports of embezzlement of state funds, involvement of government officials in questionable business activities, and tax privileges for government-linked companies.

Human rights lawyers continued to highlight laws that facilitated corruption, including police arrangements with private companies to collect traffic fines. Through an agreement with police, a private company, Security Dream Ltd. (its ownership was reportedly unclear), was in charge of monitoring traffic rules and collecting fines, with half of the fine collected going to the company and the other half to police. During public hearings in parliament on April 23, an opposition MP asserted that in two years the company collected 11 billion drams ($26.9 million) in fines and made a profit of 5.8 billion drams ($14.4 million). Lawyers contended the company provided no credible justification based on facts and law for the fines it collected. On January 7, with government authorization, a Service for Mandatory Enforcement of Court Rulings began collecting unpaid fines without a court ruling. In response to a police petition, the service could freeze the financial accounts of individuals or companies owning a vehicle involved in an infraction without due process or litigation. Such freezes resulted in extensive bureaucratic difficulties for the individuals concerned, who often decided not to challenge these decisions in court and pay the minor fines (even if unjustified) and the extra service charges rather than lose access to their funds, even if temporarily.

Authorities continued their investigation into allegations of embezzlement and fraud implicating the former prime minister, Tigran Sargsyan; the archbishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Navasard Kchoyan; and businessman Ashot Sukiassian. Sargsyan and Kchoyan continued to deny their involvement. On January 31, authorities in Georgia arrested Sukiassian, who claimed he forged the signatures of Sargsyan and Kchoyan, and extradited him to Armenia on June 19.

Police were responsible for investigating corruption, and the prosecutor general was responsible for prosecuting it. According to widespread reports, neither agency operated effectively or independently, and neither had sufficient resources.

Financial Disclosure: The law requires high-ranking public officials and their families to file annual asset declarations. Pursuant to the law, the Ethics Commission for High-Ranking Officials collected and monitored the filing of the declarations, but the commission has no authority to verify the accuracy of the declarations or penalize officials for false declarations. There are no criminal penalties for noncompliance or filing false declarations.

Public Access to Information: While the law provides for public access to government information, some government bodies and officials were reluctant to grant it. According to the NGOs Freedom of Information Center of Armenia and the Transparency International Anticorruption Center, the biggest challenge was governmental bodies that, while creating an impression they were satisfying freedom of information requests, provided answers that were either irrelevant or incomplete. The NGOs were less successful in pursuing their cases in courts than in previous years, as judges rejected their claims on the grounds that government entities already provided answers.

See the Report on US Embassy's web site.