Armenian Minister Says Turkey Deal Means Legislative Changes
November 01, 2009
YEREVAN -- Armenian Justice Minister Gevorg Danielia says the country will have to amend its criminal, civil, and land codes if the Turkish and Armenian parliaments approve normalization protocols signed earlier this month, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.
Danielia told RFE/RL the changes will be "unavoidable" in order to reconcile the countries' "differing domestic legislation."
Danielia, who is required by law to submit a report to the Foreign Ministry on the agreement's ramifications for Armenian domestic policy, said on October 28 that there will be "a need to revise legislation."
He said stricter regulations in Armenia's property code are "linked with security" and should be enforced on land purchases.
Danielian also believes Turkey will reconsider its notorious law prosecuting those "denigrating Turkishness," which is widely viewed by human rights groups as a restriction on free speech.
A number of scholars who discussed the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey have been charged under that law.
The protocols signed by Turkey and Armenia in Zurich earlier this month would reopen the border between the counties and establish diplomatic relations.