The decision of the RA Constitutional Court adopted regarding the RA Law on State and Official Secret is being tested
06:17, January 23, 2014 | News, Own news
On January 21, 2014 the preliminary court hearing over the case submitted by HCA Vanadzor against the RA Ministry of Defense and stopped on June 15, 2010 was held in the RA Administrative Court. Over this case the Organization demanded to recognize the failure of the Chief of the AF General Headquarters Administrative Apparatus to provide information as unlawful and to oblige providing the names of the organizations providing the RA Ministry of Defense with food, clothes, fuel and stationery and the types of food, clothes, fuel and stationery provided by them. Although the Court appointed another preliminary investigation over this case, however, case circumstances of crucial importance were reveled during this session.
Namely, during the court session Chairman of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, plaintiff over the case Artur Sakunts presented the subject and grounds of the claim, among them, apart from the provisions of Article 27 of the RA Constitution and Article 6 of the RA law on Freedom of Information, the plaintiff also added N 1010 decree of the RA Constitutional Court dated on 06.03.2012.
Through that decree “Departmental lists are confidential and are not subject to publication” provision of Part 7, Article 12 of the RA law on State and Official Secret over another case was declared unconstitutional based on the application of HCA Vanadzor, as much as it did not relate to specific confidential information, to recognize it as contradicting the requirements of Articles 27 and 43 of the RA Constitution and invalid.
Responding party over the case, representative of the RA Ministry of Defense, objected to the demands of the claim submitted by the Organization by stating that N 1010 decree of the RA Constitutional Court dated on 06.03.2012 was not applicable in the framework of this case. The representative of the responding party claimed that the information requested through information inquiry by the Organization was considered confidential in the sense of N 173 decree of the RA Government dated on 13.03. 1998.
It is noteworthy that the representative of the Minister of Defense enrolled in the case as the responding party did not have information whether or not any action had been undertaken by the RA MoD as implementation of the decision of the RA Constitutional Court after N 1010 decree of the RA Constitutional Court dated on 06.03.2012, that is whether amendments had been made to the departmental list categorized among confidential information or whether the data contained in those lists were distinguished pursuant to secrecy and accessibility.
Chairman of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Artur Sakunts informed the Court that in response to the information inquires of the Organization, the RA Ministry of Defense first informed that a working group had been formed for the application of N 1010 decree of the RA Constitutional Court dated on 06.03.2012 to draft the relevant departmental act and later it was informed that the aforementioned act was also deemed confidential. The Court also specified that the circumstances subject for proof over the case, that is whether or not the information demanded by the plaintiff party was among the confidential departmental lists and the burden of proof in the sense of Article 29 of the RA Administrative Procedure Code was put on the responding party.
The Judge found it necessary to appoint another preliminary court hearing to reveal the unidentified circumstances and submit additional information to the Court.
The next preliminary court trial will is scheduled for 15:00 pm, February 3, 2014.