Regarding the case of Lernapat village head Vano Yeghiazaryan, who had appeared in court during working hours to represent the interests of another party, Hetq had made an query consisting of two questions to the office of the governor of Lori marz to inquire about the legality of this appearance.

The questions had sought to clarify whether, first, the law sets out clear working hours for village heads and second, whether a village head has the right to be absent from the village municipality during working hours and represent the interests of another party other than himself in court.

Governor Arthur Nalbandyan has provided a clear answer to the first question posed by Hetq, saying that village heads are required to work from 9 am to 6 pm, with a lunch break from 1 to 2 pm.  The second question remained without a clear answer, with the Governor stating that the phrase ‘the interests of another party other than himself’ needed clarification.  The Governor did provide the following written statement – “If the head of Lernapat village V. Yeghiazaryan left the village and represented another individual in exchange for financial compensation, this is a violation of Article 25 of the ‘law on local self-government’, which states that community heads may not perform any other paid duties other than creative, scientific or pedagogical work.”  The Governor also stated that the village head conducts work of a creative, scientific and pedagogical nature at the Vanadzor State Pedagogical Institute (VSPI).

But the question of whether Vano Yeghiazaryan had the right to appear in court to represent the interests of - in one case - the Vanadzor State Pedagogical Institute and – in the other - of the Institute’s rector has remained unclear and it remains to be seen whether this will be considered a part of this duties as an instructor at the VSPI.