III .FUNCTIONS OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY SERVICE
(Excerpt from the Appendix 1 of the Statute of the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia confirmed by Prime Minister’s decree № A 860-L of 28 June 2018)
16. The functions of the National Security Service shall be the following:
(1) organising and carrying out counter-intelligence activities, determining the procedure for implementing counter-intelligence measures and for using secret methods and means while implementing them, as well as defining the procedure for infiltration of special services and organisations by National Security Bodies;
(2) assisting in the preservation and reinforcement of combat readiness and combat training of the Armed Forces and other military formations of the Republic of Armenia, as well as governing bodies thereof;
(3) co-operating on a confidential basis with persons having given consent thereto;
(4) receiving, developing and analysing information on dangers posing threat to the security of the Republic of Armenia, as well as foreseeing those dangers;
(5) taking part in ensuring, within the competence thereof and jointly with competent state bodies, security during assemblies and public events held in the territory of the Republic of Armenia;
(6) participating, pursuant to the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, in the solution of issues related to acquisition or termination of citizenship of the Republic of Armenia, entry into and exit from the territory of the Republic of Armenia by the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, foreign nationals and stateless persons, as well as status of stay in the Republic of Armenia of foreign nationals and stateless persons;
(7) preserving mobilisation preparedness of the national security bodies of the Republic of Armenia;
(8) participating, as prescribed by law, in the measures undertaken during martial law or state of emergency;
(9) establishing communication, information and data transmission systems for co-ordination of the activities and summarisation of the results of the activities of the National Security Service, means of ensuring information security and information protection (including cryptographic means of protection), defining, as prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, the procedure for record-registration, storage and use of operational, archive and other materials related to the activities of the National Security Service;
(10) generalising, within the scope of its competence, the practice of application of the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, submitting, under the prescribed procedure, recommendations with regard to improvement thereof to the Prime Minister, participating in the development of the relevant draft regulatory legal acts, as well as methodological guidance for the national security bodies while ensuring legal support to the activities thereof;
(11) prescribing the procedure for applying and assigning real and conventional names in the national security bodies;
(12) prescribing uniform requirements for the organisation of workflow management and archive keeping in the National Security Bodies, pursuant to the legislation of the Republic of Armenia;
(13) handling publications and communications related to the activities of the national security bodies in the press and via other means of mass media;
(14) constituting the authorised body co-ordinating the implementation of activities of ensuring information security, the exercise of state control as prescribed by law;
(14.1) ensuring, within the scope of its competence, information security (including cyber security) of official websites, electronic platforms and other information systems and information infrastructures of state bodies;
(14.2) co-ordinating the activities to respond to computer incidents of information systems and information infrastructures of state bodies;
(14.3) participating in the development of information security (including cyber security) norms of information systems and information infrastructures of state and local self-government bodies, information infrastructures of strategic significance for national security;
(14.4) implementing supervisory function over compliance with information security (including cyber security) norms of information systems and information infrastructures of state bodies, information infrastructures of strategic significance for national security;
(14.5) co-ordinating the activities in the field of cryptographic and technical protection of information guarded by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia;
(14.6) developing a uniform procedure for organising the counteraction against technical intelligence in the Republic of Armenia, which shall be approved by the decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia;
(15) organising, implementing and controlling special measures for counteraction against technical intelligence in the state and local self-government bodies, as well as representations of the Republic of Armenia in foreign states, ensuring expert examination with regard to introduction of information and telecommunication systems, software support and protective measures as prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia;
(16) conducting scientific researches related to the fundamental issues of national security of the Republic of Armenia;
(17) ensuring protection of life, health, honour and dignity, as well as property of military servants and persons carrying out civil tasks and providing technical maintenance of the national security bodies, persons assisting those bodies, family members and relatives thereof from criminal encroachments;
(18) participating in the development of draft international treaties of the Republic of Armenia and concluding civil-law contracts within the scope of its competence and under the procedure prescribed by law;
(19) organising reception of citizens, considering petitions, applications and appeals thereof, accepting reports on crimes, providing initial legal assessment and ensuring the appropriate process thereof within the scope of its competence;
(20) using documents of state bodies and organisations, using other means necessary for disguise for the purpose of disguising the employees of the national security bodies, subdivisions, structures and vehicles of the national security bodies;
(21) training, for a compensation or without it, the personnel for special services of foreign states, security services of organisations, provided it does not contradict the principles of activities of the national security bodies;
(22) preparing, under the prescribed procedure, documents disguising officials of bodies carrying out operational intelligence activities, secret agents and persons secretly collaborating with those bodies, as well as organisations, institutions created by, structures, special technical means and vehicles brought into operation by bodies carrying out operational intelligence activities;
(23) participating in the development of technical requirements for armament and special equipment, as well as for armament and special equipment being devised, allocating the accumulation, storage and repair of armament and special equipment, as well as orders for repair work and supply thereof;
(24) exchanging, within the scope of competence of the National Security Service, international treaties of the Republic of Armenia, documents regulating sector-specific cooperation, and in exceptional cases – co-operation with special services and law-enforcement bodies of foreign states on a reciprocal basis, as well as exchanging operational information, special technical and other means therewith under the prescribed procedure and based on co-operation;
(25) establishing, as prescribed by law, restrictions and norms on the use of lands of special significance, developing and submitting recommendations related to the procedure for using lands of special significance, protection zones, special regulatory provisions, as well as the procedure for carrying out urban development activities;
(26) receiving (including on-line), as prescribed by law, information from state and local self-government bodies and organisations necessary for the fulfilment of duties imposed on the National Security Bodies, except for the cases when special procedure for receiving information is prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia;
(27) exercising other functions in accordance with laws.
(point 16 supplemented, edited, amended by No 352-L of 29 March 2023, amended, edited by No 51-L of 18 January 2024)
