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YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
APRIL 15-21, 2011
HIGHLIGHTS:
"E-CLUB" CYCLE: INTERNET AND SCIENCE
COURT OF CASSATION REVOKED THE COMPLAINT OF "INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS"
RA CHAMBER OF ADVOCATES COUNCIL APPROVED THE ORDER FOR DETERMINING
ATTORNEYS' FEES IN DEFAMATION CASES
PACE MONITORING COMMITTEE HIGHLIGHTED THE LACKS OF ARMENIAN BROADCAST SPHERE
"E-CLUB" CYCLE: INTERNET AND SCIENCE
On April 19 another program from "E-Club" weekly cycle went on the online
broadcast of "A1+" TV company (www.a1plus.am). The "E-Club" is produced by
Yerevan Press Club in cooperation with "A1+" TV company under "Alternative
Resources in Media" project, supported by USAID.
The information and education blocs, particularly, dealt with the
opportunities of 3D Internet, the new portal www.top-news.am. One of the
plots regarded the technical equipment of the Byurakan Astrophysical
Observatory, including with IT technologies. The guests of the discussion
part of "E-Club" - Khachik Gevorgian, founder of the online educational
network "Armacad", and Daniel Ioannisian, postgraduate student of the
Physics Faculty of Yerevan State University, considered the use of Internet
resources in science.
The next "E-Club" will be aired on "A1+" on April 26.
COURT OF CASSATION REVOKED THE COMPLAINT OF "INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS"
On April 18 "Investigative Journalists" NGO received a notification
informing that RA Court of Cassation has revoked its complaint on the case
with Ijevan Municipality (Tavush region). As it has been reported, the
reason for about a three-year litigation became the articles "Whose Pocket
Receives Money from Sand Mine?" and "Will the Three Commissions Notice the
Illegal Use of Sand?". The pieces were published in "Hetq" online
publication, founded by "Investigative Journalists", on May 5 and June 23,
2008, and in the supplement to "Azg" daily, "Transparent Local
Self-Government", on May 20 and July 9, 2008, respectively. The information
reflected in the articles discredited the honor, dignity and business
reputation of Ijevan Mayor Varuzhan Nersisian - as seen by the city
administration. Passing through several court hearings (see details in
Yerevan Press Club Reports "On Freedom of Speech in Armenia" for 2008 and
2009 on www.ypc.am in "Media Reports" section), the case was reconsidered by
the court of general jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative
districts of Yerevan. On July 9, 2010 the court bound the "Investigative
Journalists" to refute the information and to compensate the expenses of 930
thousand AMD (about $ 2,500) made for the attorney services, as well as to
pay the state duty for filling the court by Ijevan municipality.
"Investigative Journalists" contested this decision at the RA Civil Court of
Appeal. On December 27, 2010 the Court of second jurisdiction partially
secured the appeal of the plaintiff, reducing the amount to be compensated
to 450 thousand AMD (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, January 10-20, 2011). The
NGO had contested the decision of the Civil Court of Appeal at the Court of
Cassation. The latter did not take the complaint into consideration.
The "Investigative Journalists" informed YPC about their intention to
address the European Court of Human Rights.
RA CHAMBER OF ADVOCATES COUNCIL APPROVED THE ORDER FOR DETERMINING
ATTORNEYS' FEES IN DEFAMATION CASES
On April 15 the Council of RA Chamber of Advocates approved the Order for
determining reasonable fees for attorney services in the cases regarding
compensation of damage caused to the honor, dignity and business reputation.
The provisions of the RA Civil Procedure and Administrative Procedure Codes,
providing for "reasonable attorneys' fees" and "reasonable rates of court
expenses" (including attorney services), respectively, served ground for
developing this document. The legislation authorizes the courts to define
reasonable rates of attorneys' fees. Since the Civil Code was supplemented
by Article 1087.1 ("Order and Conditions of Compensation of Damage to the
Honor, Dignity or Business Reputation"), in addition to the compensation
foreseen by the law, the lawsuits versus media contain demands for paying
off the attorney services, "which make in the average 2 million AMD in
cases being considered nowadays" (about $ 5,400), emphasized the Chamber's
Council. The document authors expressed a concern that in case of excessive
claims by the plaintiffs, the court decisions, which are not pursuant to the
reasonable rates of attorneys' fees, can be incommensurate to the financial
situation of media.
The Order for determining reasonable fees for attorney services sets maximum
rates: 200,000 AMD - in cases on protecting the honor and/or dignity, and
300,000 AMD - in cases on protecting the business reputation, damaged by
libel and/or defamation. At the same time, even if the suit contains all the
three demands (protection of the honor, dignity and business reputation) or
also others, the maximum amount should not exceed 300,000 AMD. While
considering the cases by the upper jurisdictions, the abovementioned rates
are applied by a factor of 0.8. Besides, the Chamber's Council specified
that the Order does not curtail the freedom of attorneys when concluding
contracts with their clients and setting their conditions. In its turn, the
court may not take into account the contracts that stipulate large amounts.
The Chamber's Council stressed that the approved document has a
supplementary nature and is destined only for judges, entitled to define the
limits for attorneys' fees, as mentioned above.
As the Chamber of Advocates informed YPC, the Order was presented to the RA
Judicial Department for considering its applicability in the judicial
practice.
PACE MONITORING COMMITTEE HIGHLIGHTED THE LACKS OF ARMENIAN BROADCAST SPHERE
On April 14 the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe passed the report (co-rapporteurs - John Prescott and Axel
Fischer) on honoring of obligations and commitments by Armenia. The document
was developed on the fact-finding visit of the co-rapporteurs to Yerevan on
March 16-17, 2011.
Two provisions of the Monitoring Committee report regard the broadcast
sphere.
Point 22 notes that the bid of "A1+" TV company, participating in the
digital broadcast licensing competitions, was - once again - rejected. While
not wishing to comment on the merits of the respective decision of the
National Commission on Television and Radio (NCTR), especially since it is
still sub judice, the co-rapporteurs stressed that "the pluralism criterion
has not been sufficiently taken into account by the licensing authority when
making its decision". As a result, the tendering process did not lead to a
more pluralist media environment, which was one of the PACE recommendations.
"This matter should be urgently addressed by the authorities", the report
stresses.
Point 23 emphasizes that one of the key problems with regard to the
broadcast regulatory and licensing framework is the composition of the
National Commission on Television and Radio. While the recently amended
legislation strives to ensure the independence of the individual members, it
does not require that the NCTR in its entirety is truly representative or
reflects the different views that exist in the Armenian society. It is clear
that the current formula for the composition of the NCTR - 50% nominated by
the President of the Republic and 50% by the parliament (in which the ruling
coalition has a comfortable majority) - does not lead to a heterogeneous and
impartial composition from a political point of view. "This shortcoming
should be remedied", the report of the PACE Monitoring Committee mentions.
The report on honoring of obligations and commitments by Armenia will be
presented to the PACE September session.
When reprinting or using the information above, reference to the Yerevan
Press Club is required.
You are welcome to send any comment and feedback about the Newsletter to:
[email protected]
Subscription for the Newsletter is free. To subscribe or unsubscribe from
this mailing list, please send a message to: [email protected]
Editor of YPC Newsletter - Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
____________________________________________
Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
0002, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 374 10) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 10) 53 56 61
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site: www.ypc.am
From: A. Papazian
APRIL 15-21, 2011
HIGHLIGHTS:
"E-CLUB" CYCLE: INTERNET AND SCIENCE
COURT OF CASSATION REVOKED THE COMPLAINT OF "INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS"
RA CHAMBER OF ADVOCATES COUNCIL APPROVED THE ORDER FOR DETERMINING
ATTORNEYS' FEES IN DEFAMATION CASES
PACE MONITORING COMMITTEE HIGHLIGHTED THE LACKS OF ARMENIAN BROADCAST SPHERE
"E-CLUB" CYCLE: INTERNET AND SCIENCE
On April 19 another program from "E-Club" weekly cycle went on the online
broadcast of "A1+" TV company (www.a1plus.am). The "E-Club" is produced by
Yerevan Press Club in cooperation with "A1+" TV company under "Alternative
Resources in Media" project, supported by USAID.
The information and education blocs, particularly, dealt with the
opportunities of 3D Internet, the new portal www.top-news.am. One of the
plots regarded the technical equipment of the Byurakan Astrophysical
Observatory, including with IT technologies. The guests of the discussion
part of "E-Club" - Khachik Gevorgian, founder of the online educational
network "Armacad", and Daniel Ioannisian, postgraduate student of the
Physics Faculty of Yerevan State University, considered the use of Internet
resources in science.
The next "E-Club" will be aired on "A1+" on April 26.
COURT OF CASSATION REVOKED THE COMPLAINT OF "INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS"
On April 18 "Investigative Journalists" NGO received a notification
informing that RA Court of Cassation has revoked its complaint on the case
with Ijevan Municipality (Tavush region). As it has been reported, the
reason for about a three-year litigation became the articles "Whose Pocket
Receives Money from Sand Mine?" and "Will the Three Commissions Notice the
Illegal Use of Sand?". The pieces were published in "Hetq" online
publication, founded by "Investigative Journalists", on May 5 and June 23,
2008, and in the supplement to "Azg" daily, "Transparent Local
Self-Government", on May 20 and July 9, 2008, respectively. The information
reflected in the articles discredited the honor, dignity and business
reputation of Ijevan Mayor Varuzhan Nersisian - as seen by the city
administration. Passing through several court hearings (see details in
Yerevan Press Club Reports "On Freedom of Speech in Armenia" for 2008 and
2009 on www.ypc.am in "Media Reports" section), the case was reconsidered by
the court of general jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative
districts of Yerevan. On July 9, 2010 the court bound the "Investigative
Journalists" to refute the information and to compensate the expenses of 930
thousand AMD (about $ 2,500) made for the attorney services, as well as to
pay the state duty for filling the court by Ijevan municipality.
"Investigative Journalists" contested this decision at the RA Civil Court of
Appeal. On December 27, 2010 the Court of second jurisdiction partially
secured the appeal of the plaintiff, reducing the amount to be compensated
to 450 thousand AMD (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, January 10-20, 2011). The
NGO had contested the decision of the Civil Court of Appeal at the Court of
Cassation. The latter did not take the complaint into consideration.
The "Investigative Journalists" informed YPC about their intention to
address the European Court of Human Rights.
RA CHAMBER OF ADVOCATES COUNCIL APPROVED THE ORDER FOR DETERMINING
ATTORNEYS' FEES IN DEFAMATION CASES
On April 15 the Council of RA Chamber of Advocates approved the Order for
determining reasonable fees for attorney services in the cases regarding
compensation of damage caused to the honor, dignity and business reputation.
The provisions of the RA Civil Procedure and Administrative Procedure Codes,
providing for "reasonable attorneys' fees" and "reasonable rates of court
expenses" (including attorney services), respectively, served ground for
developing this document. The legislation authorizes the courts to define
reasonable rates of attorneys' fees. Since the Civil Code was supplemented
by Article 1087.1 ("Order and Conditions of Compensation of Damage to the
Honor, Dignity or Business Reputation"), in addition to the compensation
foreseen by the law, the lawsuits versus media contain demands for paying
off the attorney services, "which make in the average 2 million AMD in
cases being considered nowadays" (about $ 5,400), emphasized the Chamber's
Council. The document authors expressed a concern that in case of excessive
claims by the plaintiffs, the court decisions, which are not pursuant to the
reasonable rates of attorneys' fees, can be incommensurate to the financial
situation of media.
The Order for determining reasonable fees for attorney services sets maximum
rates: 200,000 AMD - in cases on protecting the honor and/or dignity, and
300,000 AMD - in cases on protecting the business reputation, damaged by
libel and/or defamation. At the same time, even if the suit contains all the
three demands (protection of the honor, dignity and business reputation) or
also others, the maximum amount should not exceed 300,000 AMD. While
considering the cases by the upper jurisdictions, the abovementioned rates
are applied by a factor of 0.8. Besides, the Chamber's Council specified
that the Order does not curtail the freedom of attorneys when concluding
contracts with their clients and setting their conditions. In its turn, the
court may not take into account the contracts that stipulate large amounts.
The Chamber's Council stressed that the approved document has a
supplementary nature and is destined only for judges, entitled to define the
limits for attorneys' fees, as mentioned above.
As the Chamber of Advocates informed YPC, the Order was presented to the RA
Judicial Department for considering its applicability in the judicial
practice.
PACE MONITORING COMMITTEE HIGHLIGHTED THE LACKS OF ARMENIAN BROADCAST SPHERE
On April 14 the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe passed the report (co-rapporteurs - John Prescott and Axel
Fischer) on honoring of obligations and commitments by Armenia. The document
was developed on the fact-finding visit of the co-rapporteurs to Yerevan on
March 16-17, 2011.
Two provisions of the Monitoring Committee report regard the broadcast
sphere.
Point 22 notes that the bid of "A1+" TV company, participating in the
digital broadcast licensing competitions, was - once again - rejected. While
not wishing to comment on the merits of the respective decision of the
National Commission on Television and Radio (NCTR), especially since it is
still sub judice, the co-rapporteurs stressed that "the pluralism criterion
has not been sufficiently taken into account by the licensing authority when
making its decision". As a result, the tendering process did not lead to a
more pluralist media environment, which was one of the PACE recommendations.
"This matter should be urgently addressed by the authorities", the report
stresses.
Point 23 emphasizes that one of the key problems with regard to the
broadcast regulatory and licensing framework is the composition of the
National Commission on Television and Radio. While the recently amended
legislation strives to ensure the independence of the individual members, it
does not require that the NCTR in its entirety is truly representative or
reflects the different views that exist in the Armenian society. It is clear
that the current formula for the composition of the NCTR - 50% nominated by
the President of the Republic and 50% by the parliament (in which the ruling
coalition has a comfortable majority) - does not lead to a heterogeneous and
impartial composition from a political point of view. "This shortcoming
should be remedied", the report of the PACE Monitoring Committee mentions.
The report on honoring of obligations and commitments by Armenia will be
presented to the PACE September session.
When reprinting or using the information above, reference to the Yerevan
Press Club is required.
You are welcome to send any comment and feedback about the Newsletter to:
[email protected]
Subscription for the Newsletter is free. To subscribe or unsubscribe from
this mailing list, please send a message to: [email protected]
Editor of YPC Newsletter - Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
____________________________________________
Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
0002, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 374 10) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 10) 53 56 61
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site: www.ypc.am
From: A. Papazian