Legislative norms governing registration of objects of priority  public interest to be clarified in Armenia

ArmInfo. Legislative norms governing the registration of assets of primary public interest will be clarified in Armenia. Amendments to the Law "On Alienation of Property for the Purpose of Ensuring Priority Public Interest" and a package of related laws will be discussed in the second reading at  the plenary session of the National Assembly of the Republic of  Armenia on February 10.

Introducing the amendments, RA Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan  noted that relations related to the alienation of property for the  purpose of ensuring priority public interest are currently regulated  by relevant legislation, and despite the constant improvement of  legislative norms, a number of problems remain.  According to the  minister, the owner still lacks the ability to exert real influence  over the assessment during the alienation process. Government  decisions recognizing priority public interests can sometimes be  insufficiently substantiated. The assessment and description of  alienated property raises certain issues that, according to Srbuhi  Galyan, need to be addressed.

The package of projects, in particular, proposes to legislatively  enshrine provisions aimed at improving the validity of government  decisions recognizing priority public interests, defining a  methodology for making decisions on recognizing priority interests,  and improving requirements for them. Regarding the content of the  aforementioned decisions, it is also proposed to develop incentive  tools for owners of alienated property to accept the amount of  compensation offered by the purchaser, identifying the possibility of  receiving compensation 15 percent higher than that stipulated by  current legislation. This will guarantee more competitive  opportunities for owners of alienated property and other persons with  property rights during the property valuation process. The rules for  compiling the description of alienated property and its valuation  will be improved, and circumstances taken into account during  property valuation will be specified, as well as the specifics of  valuation and determining the market value of damaged property, as  well as the market value of property rights. Moreover, the types of  alienated property may include not only real estate but, in some  cases, also movable property. Provisions concerning the activities of  agencies other than the Cadastre in registering movable and immovable  property subject to alienation have also been streamlined.

If adopted, the package of projects will improve legislative norms  recognizing the state's interests. This will strengthen the  justification for relevant government decisions, and will also  improve and clarify procedural and judicial procedures. The Minister  of Justice noted that the project was submitted to the Venice  Commission and received a positive opinion.