Representative of the Ministry of Justice participates in an International Conference: “Celebrating the Right to Information’s 250th Anniversary”

On 21-22 September, the representative of the Ministry of Justice participated in an International Conference “Celebrating the Right to Information’s 250th Anniversary” held in Kyiv which was aimed at further strengthening of national regulations.

Emil Margaryan, representative of the Department of Legislation of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, delivered two reports during the Conference. The first referred to the existing regulations of the Republic of Armenia on freedom of information, the positive and negative aspects of the legislation on freedom of information, the international legal acts regulating the sector of freedom of information, as well as to the results recorded within the scope of the fight against corruption.

During the Conference, the representative of Armenia also touched upon the Concept Paper on Modernisation of Freedom of Information Sector drafted by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia within the scope of co-operation with the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the new regulations provided for by the mentioned Concept Paper: electronic enquiries, requirements for the enquiry, requirements for the responce to the enquiry, proactive publication of information, etc.

Emil Margaryan informed that, in the nearest future, the Republic of Armenia is going to ratify the European Convention on Access to Official Documents, as a result of which the Convention will enter into legal force.

A reference was particularly made to the Institute of Freedom of Information Commissioner provided for by the Concept Paper on Modernisation of Freedom of Information Sector, and the scope of powers thereof, as well as to the legal regulations prescribed by Decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia No 1204-N of 15 October 2015 "On the recording, classification and storage of information processed by the possessor of information or of information delivered to him, as well as on prescribing the procedure for providing by the state and local self-government bodies, state institutions and organisations information or the copy thereof".