Lawsuits against mass media dwindle in Armenia in 2012
17.12.2012,
17:28
Number of lawsuits against mass media plummeted in Armenia in 2012, member of Information Disputes Council lawyer Ara Ghazaryan told journalists Monday.
YEREVAN, December 17. /ARKA/. Number of lawsuits against mass media plummeted in Armenia in 2012, member of Information Disputes Council lawyer Ara Ghazaryan told journalists Monday.
The Council was established in May 2010 and consists of five experts, including well-known journalist Aram Abrahamyam and head of Yerevan press Club Boris Navasardyan.
The monitoring carried out since June 2010 showed that 52 lawsuits against mass media have been filed so far. Only 15 lawsuits were filed in the period from January to November 2012, and no suit was brought before a court in recent months, Ghazaryan said.
The expert also mentioned that compensation claims totaled about 130 million drams in the period from June 2010 till October 2012, but the courts satisfied only 8.6% of the overall amount.
According to Ghazaryan, number of lawsuits against mass media dropped primarily due to increased awareness of the rights and duties among mass media and better compliance with ethnical standards of reporting.
Secretary of the Information Disputes Council Shushan Doydoyan stressed that the aim of the Council is to ensure freedom of speech and introduce democratic standards in Armenia, as well as to assist local mass media in resolving disputes. (1$=406.6drams). -0-
