PRESIDENT'S PROPOSAL TO REVISE OMBUDSMAN LAW

UNCLAS YEREVAN 000546 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT. FOR EUR/CACEN, DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV AM SUBJECT: PRESIDENT'S PROPOSAL TO REVISE OMBUDSMAN LAW DIES IN COMMITTEE Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) The Armenian National Assembly has effectively refused two Presidential requests to revise the law on the Human Rights Defender, according to the Ombudsman, Larissa Alaverdian. The separate proposals would have limited the Ombudsman's power to obtain court documents and would have incorporated the office's staff into the Armenian civil service. Alaverdian feared that either change would have compromised the independence of her office. On March 18, the Assembly's Committee on Legal Affairs rejected President Kocharian's proposal to restrict the Ombudsman's access to court documents, a rare defeat for Kocharian. The same committee has also indefinitely delayed Kocharian's request to make the Ombudsman's staff part of the civil service according to Alaverdian. ¶2. (SBU) Alaverdian, who claimed she did not lobby Assembly members, told us that the National Assembly is committed to her office because deputies drafted its original legislation without input from the executive branch. She said collaboration with the European Council created a strong vision for the office, and legislators are committed to that vision. EVANS