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The RA draft Law on Making Changes to RA Law on Psychiatric Care, on which HCA Vanadzor submitted a recommendation package in March 2016, was on the agenda of the NA four-day sessions on October 24-27, 2016.

The 2 recommendations below out of the 29 recommendations of HCA Vanadzor were accepted completely in the draft Law submitted to NA:

• recommendation on replacing the ambiguous wording in Article 5(2)(9) (Rights and duties of persons with mental disorder) of the draft;

and

• recommendation on adding the word “Objectives” in the title of Chapter 4 of the draft; the said paragraph was reedited as follows: Chapter IV. Requirements and Objectives Set for Exchange of Information on Persons with Mental Disorders and Keeping of Databases on Such Persons.

The recommendation on defining the concept of “discrimination” was accepted partially; Article 4(3) of the draft Law was edited in the widest context.

Nevertheless, a number of essential recommendations made by HCA Vanadzor that might be of great significance for the protection of the rights of persons with mental health problems were left out of the draft Law submitted to NA.

Such recommendations include as follows:

• recommendation on replacing the term “person suffering a mental disorder” with another term arousing less negative emotions, namely by the term ‘person with mental health problems”;

• recommendation that one of the 3 members of the Psychiatric Commission should come from another medical institution;
• recommendation on defining prevention of mental diseases within the basic concepts used in the Law;
• recommendation on making forensic psychiatric examination opinions, as well as conclusions on a separate opinion in 3 copies (in 4 copies in case of availability of a legal representative of an adult);
• recommendation on separating the parts defining the Article (Procedure and Objectives of Database Maintenance) on the requirements set for transferring information on a person’s mental health;
• recommendation on annual reports prepared and published by an authorized state healthcare agency based on the collected data;
• recommendation on defining fundamental principles;
• recommendation on establishing the procedure for de-registering persons with mental health problems;
• recommendation on submitting an application on the expediency of assigning a forensic psychiatric examination by a competent agency or official namely psychiatrist when a forensic psychiatric examination is assigned.

On October 24, 2016, HCA Vanadzor’s recommendation package on the draft Law was submitted by e-mail to the RA NA Standing Committee on Health, Maternity and Childhood.