Several months ago, the Law Development and Protection Foundation filed an electronic petition requesting full publicity of the proceedings in the administrative court. As informed by the Ministry of Justice, the recommendation made in the petition has been included in the package of draft laws on “Making Amendments and Supplements to the Civic Procedure Code of the RA” and “Making Amendments and Supplements to the Administrative Procedure Code of the RA.”
The Foundation raised the issue of the legislative provision which mandates in camera court hearings in high-instance courts following a decision by the Administrative Court to examine the case or part of it in private. According to the LDPF, this provision is illegitimate since it potentially infringes on the right to a fair trial as guaranteed by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In these circumstances, higher court examinations are subjected to in camera hearings even when there are no legal grounds for restricting the publicity of the proceedings. For instance, if the reasons for an in camera hearing were resolved—such as through the declassification of state secrets—then holding the hearing in private would lack any legitimate purpose.
The LDPF considers this modification crucial for fostering trust in the courts, aligning with the perspective of the European Court of Human Rights։ “The public character of proceedings before the judicial bodies referred to in Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) protects litigants against the administration of justice in secret with no public scrutiny; it is also one of the means whereby confidence in the courts, superior and inferior, can be maintained. By rendering the administration of justice visible, publicity contributes to the achievement of the aim of Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1), namely a fair trial, the guarantee of which is one of the fundamental principles of any democratic society, within the meaning of the Convention” (Riepan v. Austria, § 27; Krestovskiy v. Russia, § 24; Sutter v. Switzerland, § 26.)