Distinguished colleagues,
Days ago I proposed draft law “On Making Amendment and Addendum to the Administrative Procedure Code” of the Republic of Armenia. The aim of this initiative is to demolish the restrictions on the media coverage of open hearings of administrative proceedings. In the conditions of the currently operating regulations the journalist has to apply to one of the sides for the latter to submit a petition to the court and the court permit them to cover the open hearings. This creates additional difficulties to the journalist for covering an open hearing.
Pursuant to the proposed changes, the journalists will not have to apply to the sides for being present by their mediation, but the agreement of the sides on taping the hearing and taking photographs will be sufficient. Furthermore, in this case additional permission of the court is not required. And in the case when a participant of a hearing being an administrative body objects to taping or taking photographs, then he should ground that the restriction is required for state security, crime prevention or disclosure, the defense of public order, health and morality, etc.
Vice-president of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Arpine Hovhannisyan