Armenian Ombudsman going to appeal to CC
Armenian Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan today addressed a message to Armenian journalists, saying to appeal to the Constitutional Court to check the constitutionality of the RA Civil Code provisions on libel and defamation.
"In March 2009, while I was employed in a private law agency, I came up with a legislative initiative decriminalize libel which resulted in the amendments to the Civil Code.
In fact, the proposal was the verbatim repetition of Resolution 1577 adopted in 2007 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. A year later, a group of legislators in Armenia made a proposal which was immediately approved by the parliament and made into a law. However, it essentially differed from my proposal.
Humbly acknowledging the negative attitude and sharp criticism against my convictions which was sounded in journalistic circles, I cannot but say that
- freedom of speech is an important value. The dignity and private life of an individual (even if you dislike that person) is equally important
--the current legislation corresponds to international norms and if applied properly, can effectively guarantee both freedom of speech and a person's right to dignity.
-the current quantity of civil suits would not endanger freedom of speech if this freedom did not threaten the judge who applies legislation unlawfully and unjustly (hereinafter, a profane judge).
"The complaints resulting from the application of the law show that a profane judge discredits a good law and the RA legislation, defames good judges and the entire judicial system, discredits all the branches of our government and the state. It is the task of the Ombudsman, journalist, fair judges and every individual caring for human rights protection to neutralize profane judges.
Nevertheless, considering that my convictions and approaches might be perceived as preconceived by the author of legislative amendments, as well as understanding the argument that the current application of the law in courts is due to the ambiguous descriptions of the law, I have decided to submit these concerns to the RA Constitutional Court for examination," said the Armenian ombudsman.
