Article 1. Part 4 of Article 1 of Law of the Republic of Armenia on “Protection of Personal Data” as of May 18, 2015 LA-49-N (hereinafter, Law) shall be amended as follows:
“4. Characteristics for processing of, exercising control over personal data may be prescribed by other laws. Personal Data Protection Commission (hereinafter, Commission) shall exercise control over the norms prescribed by this Law.
Article 2. Part 1 of Article 3 shall be supplemented by new Paragraph 18 as follows:
“18) The Commission is an autonomous state body formed in accordance with the principles and procedure prescribed by Article 122 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and this Law.”
Article 3. The words“authorized body for the protection of personal data” or “authorized body” or their forms used in the law shall be replaced by the word “Commission” and its corresponding forms.
Article 4. Article 24 shall be edited as follows:
“Article 24. Personal Data Protection Commission
1. The protection of personal data shall be carried out by an autonomous state body – Personal Data Protection Commission. The Commission shall operate independently based on the Law and other legal acts.
2. The Commission is an autonomous body formed by the National Assembly, in accordance with Article 122 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the Constitutional Law “Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly” and the principles and rules defined by this Law.
3. The Commission consists of three members: the Chairman and two members. The members of the Commission are appointed by the majority of the total number of votes of the deputies of the National Assembly. The same person may not be appointed Chairman of the Commission more than twice in a row or a member of the Commission for the entire term of office.
4. Candidates for members of the Commission and the Chairman shall be nominated by one-third of the total number of deputies of the National Assembly.
5. Any citizen of the Republic of Armenia with higher education and knowledge of Armenian who has at least ten years of work experience in state, commercial, or non-commercial organizations with at least five of them in managerial positions, shall be nominated as a member of the Commission.
6. Candidates for the members of the Commission must have a recommendation from at least five non-governmental organizations with less than seven years of experience in the field of protection of human rights. Recommendations are submitted at least three working days before the voting. The National Assembly invites the candidates to answer the questions of the deputies related to their candidacy and to make a speech on their candidacy. The absence of the candidate for respectable reasons shall not be an obstacle to appoint him/her.
7. The members of the Commission and the Chairman shall be appointed for a term of five years, except for the first staff of the Commission. The first staff of the Commission shall be appointed by the following rules:
a) The candidate who receives the maximum number of votes as a result of the voting shall be appointed the Chairman of the Commission for a term of five years.
b) The candidate who receives an average number of votes as a result of the voting shall be appointed a member of the Commission for a term of three years.
c) The candidate who receives the minimal number of votes as a result of the voting shall be appointed a member of the Commission for a term of two years.
8. The member of the Commission holds office until the age of 65. In case of early termination or termination of the term of office of a member of the Commission, a new member of the Commission shall be appointed in accordance with the procedure prescribed by this Article for the remaining period of the term of office. If the remaining term of office is less than one year, the term of office of the new member of the Commission shall be five years, plus the remaining period.
9. With the exception of the first staff of the Commission, the member who has worked for the Commission for a longer period of time shall be appointed the Chairman of the Commission.
10. A person cannot be appointed a member of the Commission if:
1) he/she has been convicted based on a court verdict that has entered into legal force and the conviction is not removed or expunged in the prescribed manner.
2) he/she is declared incapacitated or partially incapacitated by a court decision that has entered into legal force.
11. The members of the Commission may not hold positions in state or local self-government bodies that are not conditioned by their status, any position in commercial organizations, to be engaged in entrepreneurial activity, conduct other paid work, except for scientific, educational, and creative work.
12. The powers of a member of the Commission shall terminate in the following cases:
1) the age defined for the position is reached,
2)the term of office has expired,
3) the citizenship of the Republic of Armenia has been terminated,
4) a resignation is submitted,
5) he/she is declared incapacitated, missing or dead by a court decision that has entered into legal force,
6) he/she was sentenced by a court, or criminal prosecution was terminated on unfounded grounds.
7) he/she has passed away.
13. Powers of a member of the Commission shall be terminated on the basis of the conclusion of the Commission in accordance with the procedure established by the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Armenia “Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly” if:
1) during his/her tenure, a member of the Commission has acquired a disease that impedes the exercise of the powers of a member of the commission,
2) he/she has been absent from at least half of the committee sessions for a year due to long-term incapacitation or other respectable reasons,
3) he/she has been absent from the sessions of the commission more than twice in a year,
4) he/she violated the requirements of the incompatibility of a member of the commission,
5) evidence has emerged that he/she did not comply with the requirements at the time of the appointment.
14. The Commission organizes its work through sessions. The sessions shall be held as necessary, taking into account the terms of administration and other rules established by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia. The issues discussed at the sessions are proposed by the members of the Commission. The sessions are organized by the structural subdivisions of the Commission staff. The work of the structural subdivisions is regulated by this law and the decisions of the Commission.
15. The structural subdivisions ensure the full and effective implementation of the powers assigned to the Commission by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, this Law, and other laws.
16. The functions of the structural subdivisions of the Commission, the number of employees and other internal regulatory issues related to the organization of the activities of the structural subdivisions are regulated by the decisions of the Commission. The number of employees of the structural subdivisions and the staff list shall be approved by the Government upon the recommendation of the Commission, and the structure and charter shall be approved by the Commission. ”
Article 5. The Law shall be supplemented by Article 24.1 as follows:
“Article 24.1. Powers of the Personal Data Protection Commission.
1. The Commission shall:
1) check, on its initiative or on the basis of an appropriate application, the compliance of the processing of personal data with the requirements of this Law,
2) apply administrative sanctions prescribed by law in the case of violation of the requirements of this Law,
3) require blocking, suspending or terminating the processing of personal data violating the requirements of this Law,
4) require from the processor rectification, modification, blocking or destruction of personal data where grounds provided for by this Law exist,
5) prohibit completely or partially the processing of personal data as a result of the examination of the notification of the processor on processing personal data,
6) keep a register of processors of personal data,
7) recognize electronic systems for processing of personal data of legal persons as having an adequate level of protection and include them in the register,
8) check the devices and documents, including the existing data and computer software used for processing data,
9) apply to the court in cases provided for by law,
10) exercise other powers prescribed by law,
11) maintain the confidentiality of personal data entrusted or known to it in the course of its activities,
12) ensure the protection of rights of the data subject,
13) consider applications of natural persons regarding the processing of personal data and deliver decisions within the scope of its powers,
14) submit, once a year, a public report on the current situation in the field of personal data protection and on the activities of the previous year,
15) conduct researches and provide advice on processing data based on applications or coverages of processors or inform on best practices on the processing of personal data,
16) report to law enforcement bodies where doubts arise with regard to violations of criminal law nature in the course of its activities.
2. The Commission shall make decisions within the scope of its powers provided by law, which by their nature may be a sub-legislative normative, individual, or internal (local) legal acts. Decisions of the Personal Data Protection Commission may be appealed through judicial procedure. The judicial appeal of the decisions on the powers provided for in paragraphs 3, 4, and 5 of Part 1 of this Article shall not suspend the obligation to perform them.
3. In conducting the studies and inspections provided for in part 1 of this Article, the Commission shall be governed by the norms of the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Organizing and Carrying out Inspections in the Republic of Armenia” and the Law on “Fundamentals of Administration and Administrative Proceedings”.
4. The Commission shall hold open sessions, except in cases where state, official, commercial, privacy matters, or internal regulations of the Commission are discussed. The Commission organizes its sessions as necessary. The session of the Commission is valid if at least two members of the Commission participate in it, and it is chaired by the Chairman of the Commission or a member authorized by him/her.”
Article 6. Article 29 shall be supplemented by new Part 4.
“Article 29. Transitional Provisions
- Before the appointment of the members of the Commission provided for by this Law, the formation of the staff of the Commission in the field of personal data protection shall be supervised by the authorized body of the Government of the Republic of Armenia.”
Article 7. This law shall enter into force on the tenth day following the day of its official publication.