HCA Vanadzor has Filed a Claim with the RA Constitutional Court

On December 29, 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 provisions of Article 3 of the RA Law on Freedom of Information contradict Article 3 and Article 27 of the RA Constitution or Article 1 of the RA Constitution, and that the provisions of Articles 182, 185, and 262 of the RA Criminal Procedure Code contradict Articles 1, 14.1, and 27 of the RA Constitution, and should be considered invalid.

The reason for HCA Vanadzor’s appeal to the Constitutional Court was a note by the Head of the RA Special Investigation Service in response HCAV’s inquiry. 

On March 17, 2010, the organization submitted an inquiry to the Head of the RA Special Investigation Service, requesting the copies of the decisions to initiate criminal cases, the copies of decisions to cease criminal prosecution, as well as the copies of the decisions to terminate criminal cases made by the RA Special Investigation Service between the period of January 1, 2009 and February 28, 2010.  

The SIS responded to the inquiry in the following way: “In response to your March 17, 2010 inquiry, we would like to inform you that the circle of persons entitled to obtaining copies of the decision made during the criminal proceedings and other procedural documents and the procedure of providing the copies is defined by the RA Criminal Procedure Code, which has a higher legal power than the law indicated by you. You are not an authorized and appropriate person to bring up such a request, therefore the provision of the copies of those decisions does not derive from the requirements of the RA Criminal Procedure Code and other laws.” 

The claim filed by HCAV was rejected by all court instances.