Activity Details (ID# 8256)

Activity Synopsis

The meeting’s main objective was to discuss possible amendments to the provisions of the Armenian criminal code concerning defamation and to the legislation governing conditional release of persons serving life sentences.

 

As regards defamation, Mr. Millar, after having presented an incisive overview of the ECourtHR’s interpretation of Article 10 of the ECHR, pointed out the main problematic aspects of the Armenian criminal code provisions concerning insult and defamation.
As regards the criminal code provisions which prevent those convicted for certain categories of crime to life imprisonment from a conditional release, Prof. Del Tufo presented her appraisal and underlined that these provisions were in contradiction with CoE standards.
The Armenian authorities argued that the current provisions of the criminal code concerning insult and defamation were not fundamentally different from those in force in other member States of the Council of Europe, therefore seeing no reason in amending them. With reference to the rules governing the conditional release of persons serving life sentences, they stressed that for the time being there were no concrete plans to amend those provision.
 

It was agreed, at the end, that Mr. Miller would provide the Secretariat of the Media Division, by the end of May 2004, with written observations on the compliance with the CoE standards of the the Armenian criminal code provisions concerning defamation. These observations would be transmitted to the Armenian authorities and the latter would subsequently inform the CoE of any follow-up on the matter.

 

Armenian authorities

 

Mr. Gavin MILLAR, Barrister, The U.K.
Ms. Valeria del TUFO, Law Professor, Italy

 

Natalia VOUTOVA, Special Representative of the Secretary General in Armenia
Alessia SONAGLIONI, Media Division, Directorate General of Human Rights