COURT TO ISSUE DECISION REGARDING TEGHUT MINE TOMORROW
Arman Gharibyan

2010 /03/23 | 12:30

At today’s hearing pitting opponents of mining operations at Teghut
with the government, Administrative Court Judge Artzrun Mirzoyan,
stated that he had reached a decision that would be issued tomorrow.

Neither side in the case was permitted to make any statements, since
the case was given expedited status.

The environmental activists, represented by the group "Ecodar", are
seeking to halt all mining by the Armenian Copper Programme at Teghut.

A lower court had found in favour of the government’s decision to let
the mining proceed. After the hearing, Hetq spoke with Hayk Alumyan,
a lawyer for the plaintiff "Ecodar".

Mr. Alumyan said that no government office had yet to respond in
writing to the petition submitted by the activists arguing against
mining operations and that it was their obligation to do so. He added
that as a result neither the activists nor the court have a clue as
to where the government stands in the matter.

When asked about the expedited court session, Mr. Alumyan described
today’s proceedings as "absurd", but expected. "You can only have
an expedited case when there is no need to hear from the parties
involved, when there is no need to delve into the arguments of the
case," he said.