OSCE AND CoE WELCOME AGREEMENT TO CHANGE RECENTLY AMENDED ASSEMBLY LAW
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21 April, 2008
The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
and Council of Europe’s Venice Commission today welcomed the agreement
reached with leading Armenian state representatives to make changes
to the recently amended assembly law.
"We see this agreement as another step in the long-standing cooperation
between the Armenian authorities, the ODIHR and the Venice Commission
on the legislative regulation of public assemblies", said Ambassador
Christian Strohal, ODIHR Director.
"The Venice Commission and the ODIHR look forward to receiving the
drafts of the new amendments and stand ready to review them in light
of relevant international standards", said Gianni Buquicchio, General
Secretary of the Venice Commission.
In a legal opinion published on 28 March, the ODIHR and the Venice
Commission raised serious concerns about the amendments to the Law
on Conducting Meetings, Assemblies, Rallies and Demonstrations which
was passed shortly after the violent events of 1-2 March.
During a visit to Yerevan on 15-16 April, a delegation from the
ODIHR and the Venice Commission delegation met with Tigran Torosyan,
the Speaker of the National Assembly, Gevorg Danielyan, Minister of
Justice, and presidential adviser Gevorg Mheryan.
It was agreed to repeal or change the amendments introduced to tighten
provisions for peaceful assemblies, in particular with regard to
spontaneous gatherings. These changes would bring the law closer to
its original content, which had been assessed positively by the ODIHR
and the Venice Commission.
Based on the agreement reached, new amendments will be drafted and
submitted to ODIHR and the Venice Commission for another review. The
ODIHR and Venice Commission experts suggested that sufficient time
be allowed for public discussion of the amendments.