Armenian advocates welcome update of Criminal Code

The concept of the new Criminal Code of Armenia provides for a number of major changes; and the "personality factor" has been brought into the forefront, said the advocates Ara Zakaryan and Ovannes Kocharyan, who welcomed the reform of the Code.

"The new Criminal Code should reflect the criminological reality, ensure efficiency in counteracting the current challenges and be in tune with the modern trends in the criminal law and legislation," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the press service of the Armenian government.

Ara Zakaryan, a member of the Bar Association of Armenia, said that the types of punishments are an urgent problem in the current Criminal Code.

"There are a number of provisions associated with types of punishments, which fail to meet the modern trends. They should be either amended or cancelled whatsoever," he said.

According to Naira Zograbyan, the secretary of the "Prosperous Armenia" Party and the Chair of the Commission on European Integration, the most pressing issue is the application of the bail as a measure of freedom restriction.

"Europe has long given up a mandatory arrest. They mostly use home arrest, release on bail, etc. It is much more profitable for the state to apply bail instead of arrest, where every day of a detainee's custody claims about 4000 drams (1 US dollar equals to 406 drams) from the state budget," she said.