On April 21, 2009, the Freedom of Information Center sent an information request to the head of the “Armenian National Congress” Pact Levon Ter-Petrosyan asking to provide the following information:
1. The copy of financial report 2008, which should cover information defined by the RA “Law on parties” article 28, part 3,
2. Information about those financial sources which donation valued more than the centuple of minimal salary, defined by the law.
The FOICA’s information request remained unanswered. Thus, on June 26, 2009 the FOICA filed a lawsuit in the Court of the General Competence of Center and Nork-Marash administrative districts demanding the requested information from the “Armenian National Congress” Pact in five days.
At the preliminary court hearing the representatives of the “Armenian National Congress” Pact didn’t appear in the court, but sent a written answer, mentioning, that they didn’t have to answer to the FOICA’s information request, as they weren’t an information holder.
On December 22, 2009, the Court of the General Competence of Center and Nork Marash administrative districts decided to close the court case FOICA vs. the “Armenian National Congress” Pact without examining it according to the essence.
The court case was closed by the following reason: according to the RA Code of Civil Legal Procedure only judicial and natural persons may be as a respondent at the court in civil cases.
Thus, as the “Armenian National Congress” Pact is a union of parties, it can not be a respondent at the court, because the “Armenian National Congress” Pact is neither a natural person nor a judicial person. Despite according to the Electoral Code of RA the Pact has certain rights and responsibilities, it is impossible to give the “Armenian National Congress” of the legal action.
It is obvious that unequal conditions are set among the “Armenian National Congress” Pact and other political parties which participate in the elections.
