Artur Sakunts about their Claim to the CC: “It is a Secret, what is a Secret”

Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor submitted a claim to the RA Constitutional Court to recognize the 8th and 12th Articles of the RA Law on State Secrets as unconstitutional and invalid.

Artur Sakunts, the chairman of HCAV, insists that the abovementioned articles contradict the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 27th, 43rd, 83.5th, and 117th articles of the RA Constitution.Sakunts states that according to the Law on Freedom of Information each person has the right to address an inquiry to information holder to get acquainted with and/or get the information sought by him as defined by the law. Freedom of information can be limited in cases as defined by the RA Constitution and Law. “The legal procedures of classifying information as a state secret are regulated by the RA Law on State and Official Secrets,” states the human rights activist.

Article 12 of the RA Law on State and Official Secrets, entitles the agencies of the Executive Branch with the authority to develop and, with legal acts, verify extensive departmental lists of confidential information, which they are authorized to manage. “Since it is a secret what information is secret, there s a possibility that any information known to the public can be included in these lists and their dissemination may create factual and legal consequences for the participants of the legal relationship,” argues Sakunts.

He adds that the RA Law on State Secrets is one of those numerous laws which have not been reviewed or amended after the amendments to the Constitution.

The organization appealed to the RA Constitutional Court after all courts rejected the HCAV lawsuit against the RA Ministry of Defense.  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. After receiving the rejection from the RA Ministry of Defense, 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 in the Administrative Court. The courts rejected the organization’s claim and complaints referring to the legal regulations of the RA Law on State Secrets.“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,” concludes Artur Sakunts. 

Source: www.aravot.am