On September 12, 2012, the Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia, presided over by Judge Karine Baghdasaryan, granted the claim filed by the “Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center” NGO against the Real Estate Cadastre State Committee of the Republic of Armenia. The court recognized the committee’s inaction as illegal, infringing upon the freedom of information and the right to receive a proper response within a reasonable time. The requirements sought the recognition of the violation and an obligation to provide information.
On June 30, 2010, the “Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center” NGO had initially requested information from the State Committee of the Real Estate Cadastre of the Republic of Armenia. The request sought a copy of the cadastral map of “Student Park” in A3 format, along with copies of the alienation (acquisition) and/or lease agreements and relevant state registration certificates for each real estate unit within the borders of “Student Park.” While the SC of the RA CA provided a copy of the cadastral map, it refused to provide the other requested information, citing that it contained commercial secrets. According to the RA Law on “Freedom of Information,” information containing a trade secret can be withheld.
Considering the rejection by the RA Cadastre State Committee as unreasonable, the “Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center” NGO approached the RA Administrative Court to recognize the violation of its right to receive information and to compel the committee to provide the requested information. Heriknaz Tigranyan and human rights defender Artak Zeynalyan represented the “Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center” NGO in court.
The Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia, in its ruling on September 12, 2012, confirmed the right to freedom of information for the “Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center” NGO. The court considered the State Committee of the Real Estate Cadastre’s argument, stating that the requested information contains commercial information, as invalid. The court deemed unfounded the defendant’s argument that the cost of alienation (acquisition) and/or lease of each unit of real estate within the boundaries of the “Student Park” is a commercial secret. This is because this information is reflected in the decisions of the Council of the Elders of Yerevan, which are necessarily published on the official website of the Yerevan Municipality and are available.
Furthermore, according to the RA Law “On Freedom of Information,” the rejection of the publication of information containing commercial secrets is not warranted if such information represents the real situation prevailing in the field of nature and environmental protection in RA. The factual circumstances of the court case have shown that the information requested by the “Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center” NGO indeed represents the real situation prevailing in the field of nature and environmental protection in RA. Therefore, it is subject to provision, even if it contains commercial secrets.
