PROPERTY RIGHTS FOCUS OF TRAINING COURSE SUPPORTED BY OSCE OFFICE IN YEREVAN

armradio.am
31.10.2009 11:33

Some 35 representatives of state and civil society organizations,
lawyers, judges, international and local experts discussed how the
right to property is applied in Armenia and international standards
for such rights at an OSCE-supported training course that started
today in Yerevan.

A non-governmental organization, the Armenian Institute for
Development, organized the two-day event, with support from the
OSCE Office in Yerevan, the Netherlands Helsinki Committee, the
International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights, the
American Bar Association and the British Embassy in Armenia.

Participants discussed how to ensure that public and individual
interests are adequately balanced and considered during the urban
and spatial planning development process. The event focused on how
local courts apply the provisions of the European Convention for
Human Rights.

"Protection of property rights is a fundamental human right and is
critical to the establishment of the rule of law and for economic
development," said the Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, Ambassador
Sergey Kapinos. "Armenian legislation and practice must protect
individuals from disproportionate interferences with the right to
property, as required by the European Convention for Human Rights."

Arthur Grigoryan, a defence lawyer who led the training course, said
legal analysis of recent cases of property being claimed for public
interest showed that the legislative regulation was insufficient, and
that domestic legal remedies failed to protect the affected property
owners. He said he hoped that ongoing efforts by the authorities
would provide adequate protection.