On July 21, 2017, the Freedom of Information Center of Armenia applied to the RA Administrative Court against the municipalities of Ashtarak, Armavir, Gavar, Hrazdan, Kapan, Yeghegnadzor and Ijevan, with a claim to recognize their inaction as unlawful and to oblige them to publish information.
Every year FOICA evaluates level of public administration and local self-government bodies through the Proactive Transparency and Freedom of Information Index. In 2017, FOICA also examined the compliance of municipalities with Part 3 of Article 7 of the RA Law on Freedom of Information, which obliges information holders to proactively publish 13 categories of information. FOICA’s study showed that the municipalities didn’t published the 13 categories of information for 2016.
By its decision of December 19, 2018, the Administrative Court rejected FOICA’s claim. FOICA appealed this ruling to the RA Administrative Court of Appeal. On July 1, 2022, the first hearing in the case FOICA v. Regional Centers (Case No. VD/10811/05/17) took place. The court proceeding lasted about five years. The last hearing was held on June 1, 2022. Of the seven respondents, only the representative of Ijevan municipality showed up, whose power of attorney had expired; therefore, he could not effectively participate. The hearing was held without the participation of representatives of the other respondents.
On June 22, 2022 the Court of Appeal fully upheld the strategic lawsuit of the FOICA against the seven municipalities (regional centers), obliging them to publish on their official websites all 13 categories of information subject to mandatory publication defined by the RA Law on Freedom of Information.
It should be emphasized that the purpose of this strategic litigation was to promote proactive transparency in local self-government bodies and to ensure the availability of information subject to mandatory publication. This is the first court precedent in Armenia on proactive disclosure, by which a public authority is obliged, on the basis of a judicial act, to perform its legal duty of proactive disclosure.
The Court decided:
- To uphold the appellate complaint of the Freedom of Information Center. To annul and amend the decision of the RA Administrative Court of December 19, 2018, in administrative case No. VD/10811/05/17; on the grounds of unlawful inaction of the municipalities of Ashtarak, Armavir, Gavar, Hrazdan, Kapan, Yeghegnadzor and Ijevan in failing to perform their obligations under Article 7, Parts 3 and 5 of the RA Law “On Freedom of Information”, to oblige the municipalities of Ashtarak, Armavir, Gavar, Hrazdan, Kapan, Yeghegnadzor and Ijevan to publish on their official websites the 13 categories of information defined by Article 7, clause 3 of the RA Law on Freedom of Information.
- From the municipalities of Ashtarak, Armavir, Gavar, Hrazdan, Kapan, Yeghegnadzor and Ijevan, jointly confiscate in favor of the NGO Freedom of Information Center AMD 14,000 as reimbursement of the state duty paid for the claim and appeal.
You can get acquainted with the lawsuit here.
Details of the court case are available here.
