WILL OMBUDSMAN BE APPOINTED BEFORE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION?
KarabakhOpen
12-06-2007 12:21:57
The law on the human rights defender was passed two years ago. The
post of ombudsman is still vacant, however. They said let us first
adopt the Constitution then appoint ombudsman. We have already adopted
the Constitution but the ombudsman has not been appointed yet.
A few days ago amendments were made to the law on human rights
defender.
According to the amended law, the president no longer appoints
ombudsman.
The parliament elects ombudsman for 6 years. The ombudsman is named
by one third of the members of parliament, and is elected if three
fifths of the members of parliament vote for.
Yuri Hairapetyan, chair of the State and Legal Committee, said
the ombudsman will be appointed after the president ratifies the
amendments. The Democrat member of parliament said in an interview
with KarabakhOpen.com his faction is ready to solve this problem
as soon as possible. In answer to the question if the faction will
name ombudsman, Hairapetyan said: "The faction has political will to
fulfill the provisions of the law. As to a candidate, we have had no
consultations yet."
Will ombudsman be appointed before the presidential election? Yuri
Hairapetyan thinks it is impossible because "the session of parliament
ends in June." "If we do not manage, we will raise this issue in the
next session," Yuri Hairapetyan said.
By the way, the ombudsman must be a citizen aged 35 and up. Yuri
Hairapetyan said higher education is not obligatory. According to
the amendment, the ombudsman will not have a deputy but will have
representations to all the regions.