YEREVAN, February 6. /ARKA/. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian refused today to sign into law two bills passed earlier by the National Assembly, his press office reported. It said one of the bills is about a set of amendments made to the law on Criminal Procedure and the other is about amendments made to the law on Bank Secrecy.

The president explained his refusal to sign the bills by the fact that some provisions in them are problematic in terms of constitutionality.

"The president did not sign these bills into law and asked the Constitutional Court to determine their compliance with the Constitution," a statement by Sarkissian's press office said.

On January 22, 2020, the National Assembly approved amendments to the laws on Criminal Procedure and Bank Secrecy, which remove restrictions on bank secrecy. Under the current law, bank secrecy can be disclosed only with respect to suspects and accused. The bills remove these restrictions, although they provide specific mechanisms of guarantees.

In particular, requirements for requests for access to bank secrecy have been strengthened and a guarantee has been established in the form of prosecutorial oversight. -0-