Law criminalizing illegal enrichment of state officials can be given retroactive effect (video)
The law criminalizing illegal enrichment of state officials can be given full retroactive effect irrespective of the claims that the Constitution does not allow it, says economist Vahgan Khachatryan. “There is such an opportunity. They always cite the Constitution and never prove their truth. Many legislative acts are altered because the Constitution is interpreted in another way,” he said today. “Should the law be given retroactive effect, it would have a great significance in terms of curbing corruption. It would put state officials on alert and make them understand that in the end everything is determined by their work,” the economist added. Vahagn Khachatryan then cited the example of Eastern Europe where the retroactive effect of laws was applied in the fight against corruption. Pro- government forces advise critics not to be pessimistic about the law from the very beginning and wait for the results. The economist explains why he is critical of the law. “In many cases, we were silent and waited and our predictions come true in the end,” he said. He says many laws in Armenia are passed in order to attract money from international organizations, rather than to improve life in the country.
