A Claim to Recognize the 8th and 12th Articles of the RA Law on State Secrets Unconstitutional

On November 23, 2011, authorized representatives of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor, Artak Zeynalyan and Arayik Ghazaryan, submitted a claim to the RA Constitutional Court to recognize that the 8th and 12th Articles of the RA Law on State Secrets contradict the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 27th, 43rd, 83.5th, and 117th articles of the RA Constitution and are invalid.

In particular, the claim states that Article 12 of the RA Law on State and Official Secrets entitles the agencies of the executive branch to develop and, with legal acts, verify extensive departmental lists of confidential information, which they are authorized to manage. Moreover, the provisions of the disputed article prescribes that the list of confidential information itself is also confidential. In other words, confidential legal acts of the department define what information is confidential.  Under such conditions, a large and important sphere of activity of public authorities is left out of public supervision, which is incompatible with the fundamental principles of a legal and democratic society.

The reason for HCA Vanadzor’s appeal to the Constitutional Court was a note from the RA Minister of Defense in response HCAV’s inquiry. 

On February 10, 2010, the organization submitted an inquiry to the RA Minister of Defense, requesting information about the number of conscripts and contract soldierswho died while serving in the armed forces in 2009, with their full names and addresses.

On February 20, 2010, the ministry responded to the inquiry:  “… According to the “extensive departmental list of confidential information of the RA Ministry of Defense,” enacted by the confidential order of the RA Minister of Defense,the requested information is considered confidential, and as provided by Article 4 of the RA Law on State and Official Secrets, it is considered an official secret. Taking into account the abovementioned and the provisions of the 1st point of Article 8 of the RA Law on Freedom of Information, the ministry is unable to provide you with the requested information.”

On February 27, 2010, HCA Vanadzor submitted a new inquiry to the ministry and requested them to provide the corresponding confidential order of the RA Minister of Defense and “the extensive departmental list of confidential information of the RA Ministry of Defense,” enacted by the confidential order of the RA Minister of Defense.”

The ministry refused to provide the information, considering it a state and official secret.

The organization litigated the lawfulness of the refusal of the Ministry of Defense to provide information at the Administrative Court. The courts rejected the organization’s claim and complaints referring to the legal regulations of the RA Law on State Secrets.