YEREVAN, April 30. /ARKA/. Armenian Deputy Justice Minister Levon Balyan presented a draft law on making amendments and additions to the law “On Compulsory Execution of Judicial Acts” in Parliament.

According to Balyan, under the proposed amendments, debtors will not be left without means of subsistence. That is, the income of debtors will be confiscated only partially - up to the amount corresponding to the minimum wage in order to ensure their livelihood.

According to the current legislation, up to 50% of the amount can be withheld from a debtor's salary and therefore he or she may simply lose his or her livelihood.

“The amendments to the law stipulate that in criminal proceedings demanding payment of an amount of more than 200 thousand drams, the arrest will be imposed first of all on the debtor's income. For example, in cases when there are no funds for confiscation, but the debtor's salary is sufficient to cover the amount for 6 months,” Balyan explained

Deputy Minister noted that the exceptions after the amendments will be applied only in cases where the debtor pays alimony and compensates for health damage.

According to another amendment, in the case of pensions, only up to 30% of its total amount will be withheld, and the remaining amount should not be less than the amount of social benefits.

“All this should provide additional social guarantees for debtors,” the government representative emphasized.

Another change is that confiscation does not apply to property that is provided to citizens as assistance or compensation from the government.

Balyan also added that seizure will not be imposed on the funds of the debtor's spouse in case the latter has enough income to pay the said amount. -0-