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Justice - Behind the “Closed Doors”

By the RA Prime-Minister’s assignment the content of the Law on Freedom of Information has recently been subjected to amendments by the Ministry of Justice and deserved the specialists’ stormy criticism.

According to some specialists the law has rather been changed completely, even its name, than amended becoming a Law on Freedom to Receive Information instead of the Law on Freedom of Information.

By the way today the Law on Freedom of Information with its correspondence to international standards and usage is considered one of the best laws in Armenia.

And the amended version, which to the point has become a new draft law, according to the specialists, is saturated with thrice more restricting items, than the previous one.

Almost all the 15 restrictions have the same disadvantage; it is not mentioned by what criteria the information provider should be led to decide whether the information is classified among the restricted ones or not.

In comparison with the law in force the new draft law does not include such items according to which provision of information can’t be rejected if it refers to man’s security and health, threats, nature and environment protection, healthcare and to situations dominating in other vital spheres.

Shushan Doydoyan, head of Freedom of Information Center considers this draft law to be nonsense, “I can’t tell my point of view about something which doesn’t exist at all, especially that it is prepared in an absurd manner and illiterately.”

Doydoyan says that her center presented its observations in respect to this draft yet on October 23, when for the first time it was discussed at Law Department of YSU organized during public auditions. Doydoyan proposed rather to make amendments to the articles 5 and 10 of the law in force than to draw a new draft law, mentioning that the Prime-Minister has assigned the Ministry of Justice to improve the law in force and not to completely change it.

Lana Mshetsyan, an employee of Media Department of the Ministry of Justice says commentaries on the draft law may give only the draft author, who is temporarily abroad, but Mshetsyan adds also that even in the case he were in Armenia, he wouldn’t have commented, as the draft is under development. “The draft law has been sent to international expertise and only after its conclusions it can be commented,” says the ministry employee.

Reporters covering judicial and legal spheres too express their anger in respect to this draft, as it bans to demand and provide information about the cases on trial.

Ruzan Minasyan, reporter of the “Aravot” daily covering legal sphere is sure that restrictions of information access on trial cases is a rough violation of the citizens’ rights, as in many cases the aggrieved citizens want the reporters to be present at the trial and cover it.

“I am not politicized and I think that this kind of item could be grounded also by the March events,” says Minasyan.

“Today media is working under unequal conditions: there were witnesses, who were not called to the court, but their testimony was published in the state, official newspapers, and as a result there was an unequal competition between them and us (unofficial newspapers). In this case why shouldn’t I take the advantage and publish the information, which I first have obtained with difficulty,” says the “Aravot” reporter.

According to Edgar Shatiryan, a specialist of information rights, several draft items restrict not only information provision on the proceedings, but also publication of those proceedings.

“The item on legal proceedings’ coverage is formulated illiterately. Not the information provision on the course of the trial case should be banned, but the information provision just on that case,” says Shatiryan.
Lawyer Hrayr Tovmasyan adheres to such restriction unaware though of the draft content.

“If for example the reporter covers a witness’s evidence on a trial case, the next witness may use the previous evidence and give false testimony. In the USA reporters’ presence at the legal proceedings is forbidden at all,” says Tovmasyan.

The specialists are anxious that adoption of this disastrous draft will have a wavy effect on a number of other laws. In this case amendments will be needed also to the RA criminal and civil codes, where there are prompt definitions on the reporter’s professional rights. In accordance with those definitions the reporters have right to be present at open public discussions making notes and records, presenting the sides in their articles.

The article was prepared within the framework of the seminar “Raising the Role of the Media in Covering Justice and Law Enforcement System”, organized by “Journalists for the Future” NGO (www.jnews.am).

Source: www.jnews.am