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As already reported, on December 23, 2015, the General Jurisdiction Court of Avan and Nor-Nork administrative districts, upheld the claim submitted by R. Gh. and his representative, Tatevik Siradeghyan, HCA Vanadzor Yerevan Office lawyer, against the Republican Narcological Center CJSC, requiring to remove his medical records as a drug user and his registration with the Center.

Along with other grounds underlying the ruling, the Court mentioned that according to RA Government Decree № 1599-N on Establishing the Procedure for Medical Observation and Registration of Drug Users dated December 20, 2007, the grounds underlying a person’s registration as a drug user covered medical examination of the person, which revealed the drug addiction disease, and the diagnosis by a physician narcologist. Whereas, in this case, R. Gh. was registered as a drug user with neither any relevant medical examination, nor any diagnosis of a narcologist.

On February 9, 2016, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor filed a letter with A. Muradyan, RA Minister of Health, requesting him, based on the court judgment on R. Gh.’s case dated December 23, 2015 and the human rights activities of HCA Vanadzor covering, among other, protection of the rights of drug users, to compel the narcological medical facilities to change their practical attitudes to the application of Para 10 of RA Government Decree № 1599-N of December 20, 2007, by adapting such attitudes to the provisions of the RA Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances; this would prevent any further instances of registering persons without any “drug addiction” or “drug use” diagnosis as drug users and reveal and eliminate the cases of such registration at narcological medical facilities in violation of the requirements of the RA Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and restore the violated rights of such persons.

The letter to the RA Minister of Health highlighted that according to the provisions of the RA Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the copies of expert opinions of toxic and chemical laboratories did not serve as a basis to register a person as a drug user but rather to subject him/her to medical examination under stipulated procedures.

In its response letter of March 1, 2016, the RA Ministry of Health stated that the medical organizations engaged in narcological medical care and services were instructed to comply with the requirements of the RA Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and RA Government Decree № 1599-N on Establishing the Procedure for Medical Observation and Registration of Drug Users dated December 20, 2007 and received a copy of the effective judgment of the General Jurisdiction Court of Avan and Nor-Nork administrative districts, dated December 23, 2015.

It should be added that on February 25, 2016, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor held a discussion on Issues of Drug Users Policies: Identification of Main Omissions and Need for Reforms.

The topic on the registration of drug users also considered the court judgment above as a precedent.