General Part

Section 1.

Criminal legislation

Chapter 2.

Operation of the criminal law in time and space

Article 17. Legal significance of a person’s conviction outside the RA

1. The court ruling in a foreign country can be taken into account, provided the RA citizen, foreign citizen or a stateless person was convicted for a crime committed outside the RA, and committed a repeated crime in the RA.

2. In accordance with part 1 of this article, recidivism, unserved punishment or other legal consequences of a foreign court ruling are taken into account when qualifying the new crime, assigning punishment, and exempting from criminal liability or punishment .

CHAPTER 3. PECULIARITIES OF THE RIGHTS OF ARRESTEES AND DETAINEES

Article 15. Meetings with Attorney, Close Relatives and Other Persons

From the moment the criminal prosecution body’s decision about arrest, the arrest warrant or a decision on choosing detention as preventive punishment are announced, arrestees and detainees shall receive private and hindrance-free meetings with their attorney; the duration and the number of meetings shall not be limited; they shall also have meetings with their legal representative upon permission of the body conducting the criminal proceedings. Meetings with a lawyer acting as attorney in the case shall be permitted upon presentation of an ID and document issued by the Bar confirming that the bearer is in fact an attorney at law.
Meetings of arrestees and detainees with their attorneys shall be held in a place where employees of the places of arrest and detention can see, but cannot hear them.
Meetings of arrestees and detainees with close relatives, and in case of detainees – also meetings with representatives of the mass media and other persons, shall be permitted by a decision of the head of the place of arrest and detention.
In the interests of investigation, meetings of arrestees or detainees with close relatives, representatives of the mass media or other persons may be forbidden by a decision of the body conducting the criminal proceedings; this body must notify in writing the administration of places of arrest or detention of this decision.
Meetings with close relatives, representatives of the mass media or other persons shall be held under the surveillance of employees of places of arrest or detention. Any attempt by these persons to hand over to arrestees or detainees any forbidden articles, any materials hindering the investigation of the criminal case or helping to commit a new crime, imparting or attempting to impart information may lead to premature termination of the meeting.
Arrestees shall receive at least one meeting of up to an hour with close relatives.
Detainees shall receive at least two meetings of up to three hours in a month with close relatives, representatives of the mass media or other persons at least two meetings per month with up to three hours duration.


Article 16. Walks for Arrestees and Detainees

Arrestees and detainees shall get walks during daytime in a specially designated area. The duration of walks for arrestees and detainees may not be less than an hour per day.


Article 17. Contacts of Arrestees and Detainees with Family Members and the Outside World

The administration of places of arrest and detention shall create appropriate conditions to ensure that arrestees and detainees get contacts with their family members and the outside world. For this purpose, meeting rooms, centers for using possible means of communication, possible conditions for using mass media shall be created.
Arrestees and detainees shall be permitted to conduct correspondence at their own expense without any limitations on the number of letters and telegrams.
Correspondence shall be conducted through the administration of places of detention; it is subject to external examination without reading the contents to exclude the transfer of forbidden articles and materials.
Correspondence may be censored only upon a court decision. Censorship shall be performed by the body conducting the criminal proceedings.
Letters received for detainees in their absence due to their transfer to another place shall be sent to the new place where the addressees currently are located.
The administration of places of detention shall create appropriate conditions for detainees to use newspapers, magazines and other literature. In places of detention, cells shall have radio receivers installed; TV sets may also be installed.
Detainees, except those who are charged with particularly grave offences, may be granted short-term home leaves in cases of death or serious life-threatening illness of a close relative or significant material losses incurred by the detainee or his family because of a natural disaster.
Juvenile detainees shall be granted short-term home leaves only when accompanied by relatives or other persons.
Short-term home leaves shall be of up to seven days in duration, excluding the time required for the journey back and forth.
Short-term home leaves shall be granted by a decision of the body conducting the criminal proceedings.
Applications for short-term home leaves shall be examined within one day. The time of a short-term home leave shall be counted as part of the total time under detention.
Expenses incurred during short-term home leaves shall be borne by detainees.


Article 18. Proposals, Applications, and Complaints from Arrestees and Detainees and Procedure for their Examination

Arrestees or Detainees may submit their proposals, applications and complaints every day, both in writing or orally.
The bodies and officials examining the proposals, applications and complaints from arrestees and detainees are required to examine them in accordance with the procedures and within timeframes set out by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and to inform the arrestees and detainees about their decisions.
Proposals, applications and complaints about decisions and actions by the administration of places of arrest and detention shall not suspend the implementation of these decisions and actions.
Proposals, applications and complaints addressed to the prosecutor, the judge, the defense lawyer, and the bodies supervising the places of arrest and detention shall be sent to the addressee in a sealed package within one day.
Persecution of arrestees and detainees in any form for submission of proposals, applications and complaints about violations of their rights and legal interests shall be forbidden. Persons allowing such persecution shall be punished by law.


Article 19. Meals for Arrestees and Detainees; Obtaining Food and Supplies

Arrestees and detainees shall get free meals that are sufficient for maintaining good health and strength; the minimum size of portions shall be defined by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
Is shall be forbidden to reduce the quality of food or the size of minimal portions, including as a way of punishment.
Arrested or detained pregnant women, nursing mothers, juveniles, as well as sick arrestees and detainees shall get special food free of charge; the selection and the minimum size of portions shall be defined by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
Arrestees and detainees must get drinking water.
Arrestees or detainees shall have the right to obtain food and other necessary and not forbidden articles at their own expense. The rules for obtaining food and articles of prime necessity shall be defined in internal regulations.
In case if arrestees or detainees refuse to take food, the head of place of arrest or detention or his/her deputy must find out the reasons for refusing to eat and report to the body conducting the criminal proceedings, as well as to controlling and supervising bodies.
A refusal to take food shall not suspend the moving of arrestees or detainees to other places and their participation in court proceedings. If necessary, arrestees or detainees may be accompanied by medical personnel during the move.


Article 20. Living Conditions for Arrestees and Detainees

Appropriate living conditions in compliance with sanitary-hygienic norms and fire safety requirements shall be created for arrestees and detainees.
The living space allocated for arrestees and detainees shall comply with construction and sanitary-hygienic norms set for communal dwelling areas. The size of the living space allocated for arrestees and detainees shall not be less than two-and-a-half square meters per person.
Arrestees and detainees shall get individual sleeping space and bedding.
Arrestees and detainees shall wear their own clothes. If necessary, they shall be provided with uniforms relevant to climatic conditions and their gender.


Article 21. Medical-Sanitary Aid to Arrestees and Detainees and their Personal Hygiene

Medical-sanitary aid to arrestees and detainees shall be provided in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and internal regulations.
The administration of places of arrest and detention shall ensure that sanitary-hygienic and anti-epidemic requirements aiming at maintaining the health of arrestees and detainees are met.
Places of detention must have at least one doctor of general specialization.
Arrestees and detainees needing specialized medical aid shall be transferred to a specialized or a civilian medical institution. The procedures for rendering medical, including psychological, aid to arrestees and detainees, their stay in medical institutions, as well as the involvement of employees of such institutions in medical services shall be set by the authorized body.
If any bodily injury is detected on arrestees or detainees, the medical personnel of place of arrest or detention shall examine the arrestee or detainee immediately. The results of this medical examination shall be recorded the personal file in accordance with specific procedures and reported to the patient, as well as to the body conducting the criminal proceedings.
In case of serious illness or death of arrestees or detainees, the administrations of the places of arrest or detention shall immediately inform the arrestees’ or detainees’ close relatives, the body conducting the criminal proceedings and the supervising prosecutor.
In case of serious illness or death of an arrested or detained foreign citizen, the administration of the appropriate institution shall immediately inform its superior body, which in its turn shall inform the interested departments, including the appropriate country’s diplomatic mission or consulate.
Once all the actions provided for by the law are taken, the body of the deceased shall be handed over to the person who has claimed it, while preference shall be given to close relatives. If the body has not been claimed within three days, the deceased shall be buried at the government’s expense.
In case a serious illness is discovered in arrestees or detainees, which may lead to that person’s mental disorder or death, the head of the appropriate institution shall use a doctor’s conclusion as a basis to petition the body conducting the criminal proceedings and the prosecutor overseeing the process, about reversing or changing the form of punishment.
Arrestees or detainees shall have the opportunity to satisfy his/her sanitary and hygienic needs in conditions that do not humiliate their human dignity. Conditions and rules for their personal hygiene shall be defined by the internal regulations.
It shall be forbidden to subject arrestees or detainees to any medical or scientific experiments regardless of whether or not they have given their consent.


Article 22. Receipt of Parcels, Deliveries and Money Transfers

While under arrest, arrestees may receive up to twenty kilograms of deliveries; detainees may receive up to seventy kilograms of deliveries per month. They may receive the above-mentioned amount of deliveries all at once or in parts.
Money received for detainees shall be transferred to their personal account. They may make money transfers from their personal account to the accounts of their relatives and other persons.
It shall be forbidden to transfer money to personal accounts of arrestees.
The amount of medicine received for arrestees and detainees, who are deemed by doctors to be in need of such medicine, shall not be limited. It shall be forbidden to transfer to arrestees or detainees any materials and articles that pose a threat to people’s health or that may hinder the tasks of keeping those people under arrest or in detention.
The transfer of forbidden articles and materials to arrestees or detainees shall be prosecuted by law.


Article 23. Additional Paid Services to Detainees

If appropriate conditions are in place, the administration of places of detention shall provide additional medical, hygienic and other personal paid services to arrestees.
The list of additional paid personal services and the procedures for their provision shall be defined by internal regulations.


Article 24. Detainees’ Work

If possible, detainees shall be provided with voluntary work or be given the right to do some work independently, the procedures and conditions of which shall be defined by internal procedures. When involving detainees in work, the administration of places of detention shall take into consideration their sex, age, ability to work, health condition and profession, if any. Detainees shall work in cell conditions.
Detainees’ work relations shall be regulated by the Labor Code of the Republic of Armenia.
The income earned by detainees for their work shall be deposited to their personal accounts after all the deductions defined by the law are made.
It shall be forbidden to involve detainees in unpaid works, except in sanitary-hygienic work.
The list of jobs and positions forbidden for detainees shall be defined by a Governmental decision.


Article 25. Cultural, Religious, and Educational Activities in Places of Detention and Arrest

Conditions shall be created in places of detention so that detainees can spend their free time appropriately. Libraries shall also be established for this purpose.
Clergy may be invited to places of detention and religious ceremonies may be organized there. Arrestees may also use articles of worship and religious literature.
The administration of places of detention shall create conditions for providing detainees with elementary education, as well as general secondary and higher education by correspondence.
There shall be no cultural, religious, or educational activities in places of arrest.


Article 26. Participation of Arrestees and Detainees in Civil Law Actions

Detainees shall have the right to participate through their representatives or personally in civil law actions in accordance with internal regulations, except in cases set out by Armenian legislation.
In the interests of investigation the body conducting criminal proceedings may prohibit the detainees’ participation in civil law actions.
The administration of places of detention must notify the body conducting criminal proceedings in advance about detainees’ participating in civil law actions.
It shall be forbidden for arrestees to participate in civil law actions.


Article 27. Specifics of Keeping Women and Juveniles under Arrest of Detention

Improved material and living conditions shall be created in places of arrest and detention for arrested or detained women and juveniles.
The arrested or detained women and juveniles shall have the right to daily walks of no less than two hours, during which they shall be given an opportunity to do some physical exercise.
The detained women shall have the right to keep their children under the age of 3 with them during their detention.
Appropriate material and living conditions shall be created for those arrested or detained women who are pregnant or have small children with them; also, they shall receive specialized medical attention.
It shall be forbidden to place pregnant women or women with children to disciplinary cell as a way of punishment.
In cases of sickness, improper performance of parental duties, cruelty towards children, as well as violations of internal regulations, the administration of places of arrest or detention may ask the court to deprive the detainee from parental rights and transfer the children into the custody of other persons.