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On March 18, the RA NA Standing Committee on European Integration convened an extraordinary sitting moderated by Arman Yeghoyan. The draft law on Ratification of the Council of Europe (CoE) Convention on Access to Official Documents was discussed, which was signed on 18 June 2009. The aim of the Convention is to ensure the right of the access to the documents being under the ownership of the state bodies based on the inquiry presented by every person in the CoE member states, without any discrimination.

The Republic of Armenia signed the Convention on 20 June 2020. The document entered into force from 1 December 2020, 20 states signed it, and it entered into force in 11 states.

According to the Deputy Minister of Justice Yeranuhi Tumanyants, Armenia has already fulfilled the obligations set out by the Convention with its legislation and practice. The Convention relates to the access to official documents and is comparable with the chosen direction in ensuring freedom of publicity and information by Armenia.

The Convention designs the right to get introduced to the applicant’s original document. The Convention provides that the applicant has the right not to present justifications for the access to official document.

The Committee endorsed the draft. I t will be included in the draft agenda of the NA session.

Other issues were also discussed.

The Chairman of the European Party of Armenia Tigran Khzmalyan, who was present at the siting, suggested to the Committee to come up with an initiative, particularly noting: “I would like to recommend the Committee on European Integration to prepare and to propose to the National Assembly a resolution-proposal-call-demand addressed to the European Parliament , so that no political, diplomatic, especially economic treaty is signed with Azerbaijan until the release of Armenian prisoners of war, until the whole complex of national self-determination of Armenians from Artsakh, as well as the human rights is actively and obviously respected, protected and guaranteed. I think that in the current situation, it would be very appropriate if the Committee presents that demand or call to the National Assembly to submit it to the Europe an Parliament .”