YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Government proposes to make changes in the law on “Local self-government”, reports “Armenpress”.

The Parliament has started discussions on adopting the draft law on making change in the “Local Self-Government” law and the related draft packages at the first reading.

First Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Development Vache Terteryan said the preparation of the legislative initiative is associated with the Constitutional changes, by which new definitions were set in the law on “Local self-government, as well as they are related with the changes in the self-government bodies.

“That’s why we have started working on this draft guided by the principle of more widely including the provisions of certain international documents in our self-government system”, Terteryan said.

The draft law proposes to define new concepts on local self-government, community and its residents, by making them in compliance with the formulations adopted by the Constitution.  

“We have made the major principles in compliance with the requirements of the European Charter and the international experience. More generally, we have defined the common characteristics of the local self-government bodies, the powers of communities and the community issues. In the current law we don’t have a community problems formulation, but it is defined by the new Constitution which we have set in this draft”, Terteryan clarified.

He said they have set a new approach related to the economic development of the communities. Those communities, that have great potential for tourism development, were identified by the legislative initiative, as well as those communities that can achieve serious progress in the agricultural sector.

Under the legislative initiative, an opportunity is provided to take part in the local self-government through civic initiatives. “Another important issue, that I want to stress, is that we have defined standards for participating in the local self-government, including also holding public discussions, and their format will be decided by the city council”, he said.

Vache Terteryan said they have set up an obligation for communities with more than 3.000 residents to have an official website. The city council sessions of communities with more than 10.000 residents will be broadcast live in the community’s official website.