Strasbourg, 11.03.2025 – The Council of Europe’s Access Info Group (AIG), an independent group of experts created to monitor the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents by its parties, published today its first baseline evaluation report on Armenia.
The report contains a comprehensive analysis of compatibility of the Armenian Law on Freedom of Information enacted in September 2003 with the Tromsø Convention.
The AIG considers that while the law covers a broad range of public authorities, it should make clear that all entities exercising administrative authority and all information that is held by public authorities fall within its scope of application.
The AIG also concludes that other improvements of the law are needed to ensure compliance with the treaty, notably by guaranteeing the right of access to official documents without any discrimination, ensuring the balancing of interests in confidentiality with the public interest in accessing official documents, and ensuring an expeditious review procedure in case of denials of access.
Armenia ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents on 24 June 2020. The treaty entered into force in the country on 1 September 2022.
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The Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (also known as the Tromsø Convention) is the first-ever binding international legal instrument to recognise everyone’s right to access official documents held by public authorities upon request.
It lays down minimum obligations for its Parties to guarantee the right to access official documents, balancing the protection of the public interest in transparency with the protection of other legitimate interests, such as national security, defence and international relations. The treaty also establishes obligations on the procedures for handling requests for information and the review of denial decisions by an independent body or a court.
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The Access Info Group (AIG) is a body established by the Tromsø Convention to evaluate the treaty’s implementation by the parties in law and practice and to make recommendations to fully comply with its provisions. It is composed of ten independent experts in the field of access to official documents. Based on its work, a second monitoring body, the Consultation of the Parties, addresses recommendations to the Parties. So far, 17 states have ratified the treaty and another four have signed it with a view to its ratification.
Council of Europe