Rights and obligations of the arrested​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​Rights and obligations of the accused​​​​​​​
Rights and obligations of the victim
​​​​​​​Rights and obligations of the minor

According to the Article 3 of the RA Constitution, the respect and protection of fundamental human and citizen’s rights and freedoms are the responsibilities of public authorities.

The human and citizen’s rights and freedoms can be restricted only by law in the interests of national security, crime prevention and disclosure, economic well-being of the country, public order, protection of health and morality of others’ fundamental rights and freedoms.

The Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, restricting the rights of the persons having committed alleged crime and other parties of the criminal trial through punishment or other criminal legal intervention, however, provides them with a number of rights and obligations.

The principal of providing legal aid is defined by the RA Criminal Procedure Code pursuant to which during the proceeding the arrested person, the accused, his legal representative, the victim, his legal representative, the property defendant, his legal representative as well as the witness have the right to get the legal aid of the advocate invited by them, and in cases prescribed by law – also provided at the expense of the state funds. The investigative body is not authorized to prohibit the advocate’s presence in the procedural action conducted with participation of his trustee.

The rights and obligations of the arrested

The arrest is the restriction of the right to personal freedom without the court’s decision which can be used on the base of reasonable suspicion on the crime committal or to bring the accused to court. The person is considered arrested from the moment he has been actually deprived of freedom.

The person arrested on the base of reasonable suspicion on the crime committal (the arrested) has the following rights until the relevant rights of the accused are acquired;

1)  to know the reason of depriving him of freedom,
2)    to keep silence,
3)    to inform the person, he has chosen, about where he is,
4)    to communicate and meet with the advocate,
5)    to undergo a medical examination at his request.

The rights to inform about his location, to communicate and meet his advocate, to undergo medical examination at his request start from the moment the arrested has entered the administrative building of the inquest body or the body authorized to conduct proceeding, but not later than 3 hours after the actual deprivation of liberty.

The realization of the right of the arrested to inform the person he has chosen about his location, with the agreement of the superior of the body authorized to conduct proceeding, can be delayed for maximum of 12 hours if there are valid reasons that the immediate realization of this right can hinder the prevention or disruption of grave and particularly grave crime or lead to the destruction or spoilage of evidence necessary for the disclosure of a grave or particularly grave crime. The arrested is immediately informed about the delay of the realization of this right in written form, also a separate resolution is formed in which the reasons of delaying the realization of the right are written. 

In case the arrested is a foreigner or has not citizenship, within 24 hours the body authorized to conduct proceeding informs through diplomatic channels the state of the citizenship of the person kept in custody, if he has not citizenship, the state of his permanent residence about the grounds and place of keeping him in custody, except that the arrested person is an asylum seeker or a refugee. The arrested is informed about it in a short period.

When the authorized representative of the state of the citizenship or permanent residence of the arrested person expresses desire to communicate or see the arrested, the body authorized to conduct proceeding is obliged to provide its fulfillment, except that the arrested person is an asylum seeker or a refugee.

The arrest on the base of reasonable suspicion on the crime committal cannot last more than 72 hours. The arrested should be charged and the accused should be taken to court to solve the issue on using relevant pretrial measure against him not later than within 60 hours from the moment of the arrest. If detention is not chosen as a pretrial measure against the arrested within 72 hours from the moment of the arrest, he is subject to immediate release.

The arrested person is obliged to

1)    obey the orders of the person making the arrest, the inquest body and the body authorized to conduct proceeding,
2)    be subjected to personal search,
3)    be subjected to medical examination and fingerprinting, as well as to take photo and to give samples, prescribed by this law, for an expertise.

In case of necessity to choose detention as a pretrial measure, the arrest of the accused in custody or the accused who has violated the terms of the pretrial measure cannot last more than 24 hours. In the mentioned cases the arrested accused should be taken to court not later than within 12 hours from the moment of the arrest. Otherwise, the person should be released.

The rights and obligations of the accused

The accused is the person against whom a criminal prosecution has been initiated and against whom, at the same time, there is no legally effective decision to stop the criminal prosecution or guilty or acquittal verdict.

The accused has the right to protection. Pursuant to the RA Criminal Procedure Code the provision of the protection of the accused is defined as a principle of criminal proceeding. The accused can be protected from the accusation personally as well as through advocate or legal representative. The participation of the advocate or legal representative in the proceeding does not restrict the rights of the accused. The investigative body is obliged to clarify the accused his rights and provide him with real opportunity of his defense against accusation by all means not prohibited by law, to provide advocate for timely and genuine participation in the proceeding, in cases prescribed by law to make the legal representative of the accused a party in the proceedings.

The accused has the right

1)    after being arrested or charged to immediately receive a written notice and clarification about his rights envisaged by the part 1 of this article,
2)    to be informed immediately and thoroughly about the factual circumstances and legal assessment of the charge pressed against him, in a language he understands, in case of being released from custody – about the grounds and reasons of depriving him of freedom,
3)    after being charged to immediately receive free copies of the decision on initiation of criminal prosecution, in case of taking into custody – the copies of the decisions on arrest and detention, as well as the copies of the procedural acts, which he has the right to appeal in accordance with the procedure established by this Code,
4)    after being arrested or detained immediately but not later than within 12 hours to inform the person he has chosen, in case he is a serviceman, the commander as well, about his location,
5)    in case of being arrested or detained to require free medical examination and to receive free conclusion, as well as to invite a doctor he selects and to freely communicate with him without visual or auditory control,
6)    keep silence or give testimony, among them in the advocate’s presence,
7)    to have a defense attorney at his choice or to defend himself from the moment of being arrested or being charged, in case he does not have funds to pay for the service of the defense attorney to have defense attorney appointed at the expense of state funds,
8)    in a confidential manner, to meet his defense without hindrance – without visit restrictions, except for the cases of conducting procedural actions with participation of the accused,
9)    to be informed in written form about his right not to give testimony on himself, his spouse and close relatives before giving testimony, as well as about the fact that his testimony can be used as an evidence,
10)  to cross-examine persons having testified against him or that those persons to be cross-examined as well as the persons testifying in his favor to be called and questioned in the same conditions as those having testified against him,
11)  to participate in evidentiary and other procedural actions conducted at his or his advocate’s request, if it does not harm other persons or the interests of justice,
12)   to receive the decision of the body authorized to conduct proceeding on not allowing to participate in the evidentiary action conducted at his or his advocate’s request,
13)  to submit evidence to attach to the materials of the proceeding and examine,
14)  to declare about his guilt or innocence,
15)  to initiate motions,
16)  to report rejections,
17)  to object to the actions of the public parties of the proceeding,
18)  to get acquainted with the record of the evidentiary and other procedural actions with his participation, to submit remarks  regarding the accuracy and completeness of the record, get acquainted with the record of the court session and submit his remarks regarding it, in case he has participated in the evidentiary and procedural actions, court session to require to make notes in the record about circumstances pointed out by him,
19)  at his request to receive the free copy of the record of the evidentiary and other procedural action conducted with his participation, among them the copy of the appendices,
20)  to get acquainted with the decisions on using pretrial measure or other compulsory measure against him, commissioning expertise and at his request, to receive the free  copy of those decisions, as well as the conclusion of the expert,
21)  to receive free the copy of the bill of indictment or the final act, criminal prosecution, property claim, as well as the final judicial act,
22)  to get acquainted with all the materials of the proceeding from the moment of receiving a written notification about the completion of the preliminary investigation, to receive free copies  of them or write out any information,
23)  to mediate with the court to apply consent procedure,
24)  to mediate with the supervising prosecutor to apply consent procedure,
25)  to receive proper notification about the place and time of the court session,
26)  to be present at the sessions of the court of first instance, appeal and cassation, to participate in the examination of the evidence, to give an opening speech, closing speech and closing statement,
27)  to appeal the procedural acts of the public parties of the proceedings and of the court,
28)  to withdraw his complaint,
29)  to be informed about the review complaint brought by another party of the proceeding and related to his interests,
30)  express an opinion at the court session regarding the motions and statements of other parties of the proceeding,
31)  to object to the actions of other parties of the proceeding or the presiding officer of the court session,
32)  to receive compensation for damages caused by illegal actions of the public parties of the proceeding or the court,
33)  in case of danger to his life, health and legal interests, as well as those of his family member or other close person, to request and receive special protection from the body authorized to conduct proceeding,
34)  to realize other rights reserved to him by this Code.

The accused is obliged

1)    to appear at the invitation of the body authorized to conduct proceeding,
2)    at the request of the body authorized to conduct proceeding to be subjected to medical examination, fingerprinting, personal search, inspection and expertise, to take photo or give samples for expertise envisaged by this Code,  
3)    not to hinder the proceeding, among them not to illegally interfere with the evidentiary process,
4)    when leaving for another place, to inform the body authorized to conduct proceeding in advance about his new location and means of communication with him,
5)    to obey the orders of the body authorized to conduct proceeding and the order of the court session.

The legal interests of the accused, who is a minor, incapacitated or having a mental health problem, can be exercised by his legal representative in accordance with the procedure established by the RA Criminal Procedure Code. The legal representative has all the rights and obligations of the accused, except for the rights and duties inseparable from the person of the accused. He has no right to perform any action detrimental to the interests of the accused.

The rights and obligations of the victim

The victim is the natural person or legal entity, the state, community or international organization regarding which there are sufficient grounds to suppose that the alleged crime has caused him/it damage or could have been caused damage if the alleged crime had been completed.

In accordance with the procedure established by the Criminal Procedure Code the victim has the right

1)    to get acquainted with the charge pressed against the accused,
2)    to give testimony,
3)    to refuse to give testimony or to provide materials if it is reasonably assumed that they can later be used against him or his spouse or close relative,
4)    to attach evidence to the materials of the proceeding and present for examination,
5)    to initiate motions,
6)    to report rejections,
7)    to have an authorized representative and to terminate his powers,
8)    to receive free copies of the judicial acts related to his status,
9)    to object to the actions of the public parties of the proceeding,
10)  to get acquainted with the record of the evidentiary and other procedural action conducted with his participation, to make remarks regarding the accuracy and completeness of the records, to get acquainted with the record of the court session and to submit his remarks regarding it, to take part in the evidentiary and other procedural actions, in case he is present at the court session to require to make notes about the circumstances pointed out by him in the relevant record,
11)  to receive free copies of the decisions on initiating, not initiating a criminal prosecution, stopping or suspending it, as well as terminating the criminal proceeding, the copy of the bill of indictment, the final act or the final judicial act,
12)  at his request to receive the free copy of the record of the evidentiary and other procedural action conducted with his participation, among them the copy of the appendices, as well as the copies of the decision on commissioning a forensic expertise and the expert’s conclusion,
13)  from the moment of receiving a notification about the completion of the preliminary investigation to get acquainted with all the materials of the proceeding, at his request to receive free copies of them and to write off any information,
14)  to receive a proper notification about the place and time of the court session,
15)  to be present at the sessions of the court of first instance, appeal and cassation, to participate in the examination of the evidence, to give closing statement,
16)  to appeal the procedural acts of the public parties of the proceeding and the court, among them the final judicial acts,
17)  to withdraw the complaint submitted by him or his authorized representative,
18)  to be informed about the appeal for review submitted by another party of the proceeding and related to his interests, to submit a respond on it,
19)  to express an opinion at the court session about the motions and statements of other parties of the proceeding,
20)  to object to the actions of other parties of the proceeding or the presiding officer of the court session,
21)  to reconcile with the accused in cases envisaged by this Code,
22)  to submit a property claim to court for compensation of the damage allegedly caused to him, to change the property claim before the examination of the evidence is completed, as well as to abandon the property claim before the court leaves for the separate room
23)  to receive compensation of the damage caused by crime,
24)  each time to receive compensation for the expenses made for participation in the evidentiary or other procedural action,
25)  to get back the property owned by him and original documents taken by the investigative body,
26)  to get rid of the obligation to pay for the services of his representative in cases envisaged by law,
27)  to request and receive special protection from the investigative body in case of a threat to his, his family or other close relative’s life, health or legitimate interests,
28)  to exercise other rights reserved to him by this Code.

The victim is obliged

1)    to appear at the invitation of the body authorized to conduct proceeding,
2)    to give testimony,
3)    at the request of the body authorized to conduct proceeding to give samples, prescribed by this Code,  for an expertise, to be subjected to inspection and expertise,  
4)    at the request of the body authorized to conduct proceeding to be subjected to out-of-hospital examination to check his ability to correctly perceive, remember and reproduce the circumstances to be clarified during the proceeding, if there are sufficient grounds to doubt it,
5)    when leaving for another place, to inform the body authorized to conduct proceeding in advance about his new location and means of communication with him,  
6)    to obey the orders of the body authorized to conduct proceeding and the court session order.

The victim exercises his rights or fulfills his obligations personally or through the representative if it corresponds to the nature of those rights and obligations. The rights of a minor, incapacitated victim or the one with a mental health problem are exercised by his legal representative, as prescribed by this Code.

The rights and obligations of the legal entity found as a victim are exercised and fulfilled by its legal representative.

If there are sufficient grounds revealed during the proceeding, the investigator or the court terminates the victim's status by a decision.

The decision to find a victim is made by the investigator or the court.

The rights and obligations of the witness

A witness is a person called by the initiative of the party or the body authorized to conduct proceeding to testify, who may be aware of any circumstances to be clarified in the proceeding.

A person may be questioned as a witness after being informed in written form about his rights and obligations, as well as of the liability established by law for refusing to testify or reporting false testimony.

The witness has the right

1)    to know by which proceeding he is invited,
2)    to appear to the body authorized to conduct proceeding with an advocate,
3)    to refuse to give testimony or to provide materials if it is reasonably assumed that they can later be used against him or his spouse or close relative,
4)    while giving testimony, with the permission of the body authorized to conduct proceeding, to use documents and his written notes,
5)    while giving testimonies to make plans, schemes and drawings,
6)    to personally present his testimony in writing during the pre-trial proceedings,
7)    to object to the actions of the public parties of the proceeding,
8)    to get acquainted with the record of the evidentiary and other procedural actions conducted with his participation, as well as to submit remarks regarding the accuracy and completeness of the record of the court session on the relevant part and his testimonies, to require to make notes in the relevant record about circumstances pointed out by him,
9)    each time to receive compensation for the expenses made for participation in the evidentiary or other procedural action,
10)  to get back the items, original documents and other materials taken from him by the body authorized to conduct proceeding, if something else is not envisaged by law,
11)  in case of danger to his life, health and legal interests, as well as those of his family member or other close person, to request and receive special protection from the body authorized to conduct proceeding,
12)  to exercise other rights reserved to him by this Code.

The witness is obliged

1)    to appear at the invitation of the body authorized to conduct proceeding on the day and time mentioned in the notification,
2)    to give testimony,
3)    at the request of the body authorized to conduct proceeding to give samples, prescribed by this Code,  for an expertise, to be subjected to inspection and expertise, if it is necessary to verify the testimony given by him,  
4)    at the request of the body authorized to conduct proceeding to be subjected to out-of-hospital examination to check his ability to correctly perceive, remember and reproduce the circumstances to be clarified during the proceeding, if there are sufficient grounds to doubt it,
5)    when leaving for another place, to inform the body authorized to conduct proceeding in advance about his new location and means of communication with him,  
6)    not to leave the court session hall or the court building without the presiding officer’s permission,
7)    to obey the orders of the body authorized to conduct proceeding and the order of the court session.

The peculiarities of the proceeding with participation of a minor

Any proceeding on crime attributed to a minor must be conducted expeditiously and without undue delay from the outset.

The participation of the advocate in the proceeding on crime attributed to a minor is mandatory from the moment that person is arrested or charged.

A qualified psychologist is involved in the conduction of the investigative action with participation of a minor and his legal representative also has the right to participate in it.

At the psychologist’s proposal and in order to protect the legitimate interests of the minor the investigative action is conducted in such conditions (the place, duration, frame of participants and so on) which will guarantee his best interests as much as possible.

At the psychologist’s proposal and in order to protect the legitimate interests of the minor, before starting the investigative action related to giving testimony, the investigator formulates the questions to be given to the minor and agrees with the psychologist, the questions of the arrested, accused or advocate to the minor, after agreeing with the psychologist, are given without direct communication with the minor.

The minor’s interrogation cannot last more than 2 consecutive hours and the total duration of interrogation in a day cannot exceed 6 hours.

Expertise against the minor victim or witness is conducted only with agreement of his legal representative, except for the cases envisaged by the RA Criminal Procedure Code.

When deciding whether to use detention against a minor accused the possibility to hand him over for educational supervision must be considered.

Detention may be used against a minor, accused of committing a minor or medium-gravity crime, only if he has breached the conditions of the alternative pretrial measure used against him. Anyway, detention can be used against minor accused as an extreme measure and for the shortest period of time.

The minor’s legal representative is immediately informed about the extension of the deadline of the minor’s arrest and detention.