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FIX NEEDED: ARMENIA'S LAW ON FREEZING BANK ACCOUNTS PROBLEMATIC UNDER NEW TRAFFIC FINE REGIME
SOCIETY | 15.07.14 | 15:31
By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
The Armenian Parliament is in discussion on a law restricting banks
from freezing a client's entire account in case of extenuating debt.
Presently, an account may be frozen for the entire balance, whereas
the new law would restrict a lien to only the exact amount owed.
"This means that if any citizen has, for instance, 10,000AMD debt,
then the bank is allowed to put a ban only within that amount -
not a dram more. It is not allowed to freeze the whole amount on the
account. Otherwise the bank will be responsible for compensating the
citizen for the damage and the lost profit," republican MP Arpine
Hovhannisyan, one of the authors of the legislative initiation wrote
on her Facebook page.
The use of such punitive measures has increased since the Armenian
traffic police began freezing accounts of those who had not paid
traffic fines. By law, the entire account may be frozen, and such
action often comes as a rude surprise to the account holder.
The popular commentator of "What, Where, When" intellectual game
Karen Kocharyan turned to the Prime Minister, the President of the
Constitutional Court, to the Minister of Justice and the Attorney
General writing on his Facebook page with a request to urgently
initiate some measures to stop mass illegalities.
"It is the 10th of July. It means that the holiday season has started
and people go on a vacation to other countries. I am sure tens of
thousands of Armenian citizens due to illegal actions of the EJA
service and banks, will appear in impossible situations during the
coming 1.5-2 months, when in a foreign country they find out that
their accounts are frozen. Try to help our citizens also considering
the fact that many children will be with them," Kocharyan wrote.
Citizens have complained that - due to traffic violations - their
cars have been marked for impoundment, without any warning.
Violators are often unaware of the penalties because they are not
notified properly, or the police possess a wrong or an old address.
Administrative penalties sent to such addresses are considered
delivered and are in force. The traffic police sends the administrative
penalty to the EJA service to be realized, thus the person's bank
account is banned from usage.
Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan has said he will take steps to amend
the current law, but meanwhile has urged citizens to be mindful of
deadlines for paying fines.
A statement on the case was spread by the Minister of Justice,
Hovhannes Manukyan, as well.
"The computer program providing the EJA activities, as a mandatory
procedure, mentions the amount subject to forfeiture. The problem
is created by some internal banking function of the banks. Armenian
Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the Armenian Central Bank
searches for ways to regulate the mentioned problem," the statement
says.
EJA, the legal office in charge of collections, the present law in
clear on freezing debtor's accounts.
However, MP Hovhannisyan mentions that the bill of the law they
created aims to clarify the rules of the game, not for the EJA,
but rather for other bodies who apply the decisions of that body.
"Legislative initiatives are not aimed only to regulate legislative
gaps that are results of misinterpretation, arbitrary interpretation
and in order to avoid application. The discussed legislative initiation
is from that very sphere," Hovhannisyan mentions.
http://armenianow.com/society/56067/traffic_laws_in_armenia_banking_laws_in_armenia
SOCIETY | 15.07.14 | 15:31
By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
The Armenian Parliament is in discussion on a law restricting banks
from freezing a client's entire account in case of extenuating debt.
Presently, an account may be frozen for the entire balance, whereas
the new law would restrict a lien to only the exact amount owed.
"This means that if any citizen has, for instance, 10,000AMD debt,
then the bank is allowed to put a ban only within that amount -
not a dram more. It is not allowed to freeze the whole amount on the
account. Otherwise the bank will be responsible for compensating the
citizen for the damage and the lost profit," republican MP Arpine
Hovhannisyan, one of the authors of the legislative initiation wrote
on her Facebook page.
The use of such punitive measures has increased since the Armenian
traffic police began freezing accounts of those who had not paid
traffic fines. By law, the entire account may be frozen, and such
action often comes as a rude surprise to the account holder.
The popular commentator of "What, Where, When" intellectual game
Karen Kocharyan turned to the Prime Minister, the President of the
Constitutional Court, to the Minister of Justice and the Attorney
General writing on his Facebook page with a request to urgently
initiate some measures to stop mass illegalities.
"It is the 10th of July. It means that the holiday season has started
and people go on a vacation to other countries. I am sure tens of
thousands of Armenian citizens due to illegal actions of the EJA
service and banks, will appear in impossible situations during the
coming 1.5-2 months, when in a foreign country they find out that
their accounts are frozen. Try to help our citizens also considering
the fact that many children will be with them," Kocharyan wrote.
Citizens have complained that - due to traffic violations - their
cars have been marked for impoundment, without any warning.
Violators are often unaware of the penalties because they are not
notified properly, or the police possess a wrong or an old address.
Administrative penalties sent to such addresses are considered
delivered and are in force. The traffic police sends the administrative
penalty to the EJA service to be realized, thus the person's bank
account is banned from usage.
Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan has said he will take steps to amend
the current law, but meanwhile has urged citizens to be mindful of
deadlines for paying fines.
A statement on the case was spread by the Minister of Justice,
Hovhannes Manukyan, as well.
"The computer program providing the EJA activities, as a mandatory
procedure, mentions the amount subject to forfeiture. The problem
is created by some internal banking function of the banks. Armenian
Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the Armenian Central Bank
searches for ways to regulate the mentioned problem," the statement
says.
EJA, the legal office in charge of collections, the present law in
clear on freezing debtor's accounts.
However, MP Hovhannisyan mentions that the bill of the law they
created aims to clarify the rules of the game, not for the EJA,
but rather for other bodies who apply the decisions of that body.
"Legislative initiatives are not aimed only to regulate legislative
gaps that are results of misinterpretation, arbitrary interpretation
and in order to avoid application. The discussed legislative initiation
is from that very sphere," Hovhannisyan mentions.
http://armenianow.com/society/56067/traffic_laws_in_armenia_banking_laws_in_armenia