The Chairman of the RA Investigative Committee Artur Poghosyan convened the first working meeting today with participation of the heads of central and territorial subdivisions of the RA Investigative Committee, leadership of the IC support staff.

During the meeting a number of issues related to further organization of general work under his leadership, ensuring the effectiveness, quality and proper organization of preliminary investigations within criminal proceedings, were discussed.

Artur Poghosyan presented all the priorities that will be the focus of his attention. He gave specific assignments arising from them, the main work directions, requirements and approaches that will form the basis for assessing the effectiveness of the activities of the Investigative Committee's subdivisions, as well as persons holding autonomous positions, were outlined.

According to it, the Chairman of the RA Investigative Committee, emphasizing that the necessary legal basis for regulating internal labor and functional relations exists, drew the attention of the participants of the meeting to the need for strict adherence to internal discipline, as well as to the rules of ethics and conduct in public places.

Artur Poghosyan instructed to uncover the criminal proceedings that have been under investigation for more than a year within a short period of time, to find out in detail the reasons for the delays, to make their results a subject of discussion in operational consultations and to take all necessary measures to resolve the preliminary investigation process within those proceedings.

Besides, a task was set to uncover and clarify the reasons for delays within preliminary investigation of corruption-related criminal proceedings being investigated in all investigative subdivisions and to resolve their process within clear and reasonable deadlines.

In the context of the issue of preliminary investigation deadlines the Chairman of the RA Investigative Committee emphasized the importance of, first, providing necessary instructions to the investigators by the heads of investigative subdivisions and ensuring strict oversight over the implementation of those instructions. They should be aimed at ensuring the completeness and comprehensiveness of preliminary investigation. Both the initiative of superiors in giving instructions, and the completeness and quality of their implementation will be taken into account when evaluating the results.

From the perspective of eliminating unnecessary delays in criminal proceedings, it was instructed to identify the factors that lead to delays in expert conclusions. The IC Chairman instructed to exclude the practice of commissioning expert examinations with delays, and in order to receive as specific answers as possible regarding the circumstances that need clarification, the expert should be provided with baseline data that implies specificity, as well as to ensure the necessity to promptly fulfill requests from experts for such data as soon as they are received.

During the meeting, special importance was attached to communication with citizens and participants in the criminal proceedings, as well as the protection of citizens' rights within the framework of the proceedings.

First, the Chairman of the Committee noted that complaints from citizens are often raised regarding the failure to respond properly to their complaints which should be excluded. Complaints received from citizens, especially if they are repetitive or periodic in nature, should be subject to discussion by superiors. In this regard, a strict instruction was given to eliminate cases of unjustified or unnecessary restriction of citizens' property rights, particularly concerning the return of confiscated items and movable property. For this purpose, the Chairman of the Committee instructed to discuss the possibilities of returning confiscated items and objects to their legal owners in the course of the proceedings, especially if they are necessary for the individuals' livelihood.

The Chairman of the Committee also instructed to consider the issue of giving individuals a procedural status within criminal proceedings a priority. The focus is primarily on the victims. Acquiring the appropriate procedural status allows individuals to fully exercise their procedural rights during the proceedings.

During the meeting, other issues were also discussed, including making certain changes to the current procedures for evaluating the performance of investigative work, maintaining proper statistics for criminal proceedings, and other related matters.

The Chairman of the Committee wished success to the heads of subdivision and expressed confidence that the RA Investigative Committee has sufficient potential and willpower to achieve tangible positive progress in the key areas outlined by him within the shortest possible time.