Constitutional Court upheld the claim of media outlets (video)
The Constitutional Court upheld the claim of “Hraparak” and “Ilur” media outlets on deciding the constitutionality of Article 5, Part 2 of the law on the mass media limiting the disclosure of source of information. The decision of the Court states that the media outlet can be forced to disclose the source of information only in the following cases: “When the disclosure of the source is necessary to protect human life, to prevent major crime or for the defence of a person accused of having committed a major crime.” It is also stated in the decision of the Constitutional Court that the definition “other reports” in Article 279 of the Code of Criminal Procedure cannot be a justification for the disclosure of the source of information. Human rights defender Artak Zeynalyan says that they are fully satisfied with the decision of the Constitutional Court, “The Constitutional Court disclosed the constitutional-legal content of our claim, and also stated that the formulation “other reports” in Article 279 of the Code of Criminal Procedure cannot be perceived as articles or reports and be a reason for the disclosure of the source of information.” The Human rights defender highlights that this decision of the CC must be followed by the changes in the relevant laws, “The National Assembly must be consistent and bring the discussed articles into line with this decision of the Constitutional Court.” According to the words of Ara Ghazaryan the cases initiated against “Hraparak” and “Ilur” media outlets must also be reviewed, “We will apply to the Court of Appeal in three months’ period and will demand a review of the case.”
