Mainly four steps are being taken to strengthen democracy and the rule of law in Armenia. This was noted by the minister of justice, Srbuhi Galyan, at the 4th Meeting of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee taking place today in Yerevan.

Galyan noted that one of these steps is the constitutional reforms, which are currently in the process of being implemented.

“The relevant council is functioning, the concept of the constitution has been formed; we are now working on the constitution’s new text, which, according to the commitment made, should be ready by the 2026 [parliamentary] elections. (…).

Next is the domain of electoral reforms. Recently, we adopted a package of amendments to the electoral legislation, according to which the rights of individuals were emphasized, especially the rights of persons with disabilities, who were provided with equal opportunities to participate in electoral processes. Also, the emphasis of this legislative package was related to the funding of parties, and the parties were provided with the opportunity to receive possible equal funding.

The next important step, which is also envisaged within the framework of CEPA [i.e. the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement], is the bringing of our legislation closer to EU legislation. And steps have already been taken in this direction, more than 30 legislative drafts have already been brought closer to EU legislation in 2024. The Ministry of Justice will again take continuous steps in this direction.

And the next important domain is the domain of personal data protection. The improvement of this domain is also conditioned by the visa liberalization process. Up to now, professional trainings have been carried out at the Personal Data Protection Agency. But we have a larger program related to this agency and plan to separate it and present it as an independent body within the system of our state bodies," Galyan said. According to her, a concept is currently being developed regarding the creation of a separate institution that will be responsible for personal data protection in Armenia.