On November 5, 2014, the Freedom of Information Center sent a written information request to the Jermuk Municipality asking to provide information on official visits of the mayor and asphalting works of the city.
The Municipality left the FOICA’s request unanswered. Thus, on February 13, 2015, the FOICA applied to the RA Administrative Court with the claim to recognize the Jermuk Municipality’s action (or inaction) as unlawful, oblige the Municipality to provide the requested information and to oblige the Municipality to compensate the damage caused by the unlawful action (or inaction).
After the claim was submitted to the Court the Jermuk Municipality has provided the required information. Taking this into consideration on April 20, 2015, the Administrative Court decided to terminate the court proceeding considering that by the provision of requested information the claim became groundless and the dispute was in fact over.
However, by the provision of information only FOICA’s claim to oblige the Municipality to provide the requested information became groundless. Regardless of whether as a result the requested information was received, the Jermuk Municipality faild to provide information in timeframes defined by the RA Law on Freedom of Information, thus, the Municipality’s inaction (or action) is aldeary unlawful, because of which the FOICA has suffered some damage. Thus, the FOICA thinks that the Court should continue the examination of the case on FOICA’s demands to o recognize the Jermuk Municipality’s action (or inaction) as unlawful and to oblige the Municipality to compensate the damage caused by the unlawful action (or inaction).
The FOICA appealed the decision of the RA Administrative Court to the RA Administrative Court of Appeals, asking to quash the decision of the RA Administrative Court and send the case to the same court for a new examination. The RA Administrative Court of Appeals published its decision on December 29, 2015, by which fully satisfied the FOICA’s appeal, sent the case to the same court for a new examination. On March 16, 2017, the RA Administrative Court satisfied the FOICA’s claim and recognized the Jermuk Municipality’s inaction as unlawful.
