Press notification mechanism to be digitized in Armenia

ArmInfo. In Armenia, the press notification mechanism will be completely replaced by an electronic system. At its plenary session on March 25, the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia will discuss in the first reading amendments to the law "On Public Notification via the Internet" submitted by the Armenian government.

According to RA Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan, a number of laws  are currently in effect in the country that mandate the publication  of various information in the press with a specified circulation. For  example, this applies to press notification of bankruptcies, tenders,  recognition of priority public interest, the activities of the  Corruption Prevention Commission, banks, and insurance companies,  etc. The Minister emphasized that this requirement was relevant in  the past, when the print media was the primary means of informing the  public, and such standards were aimed at ensuring access to  information for a wide range of people and at informing the public.  However, in recent years, the rapid development of information  technology, the availability of digital platforms, and the scale of  information dissemination through them have proven the obsoleteness  of publishing information in the print media, which has lost its  former distribution nature and its role. Furthermore, the process of  publishing in the print media has become quite expensive. All this  leads to limited actual access to information for a wide range of  people and additional costs. Therefore, publications in the print  media cannot currently be considered an effective or accessible form  of information dissemination. Furthermore, Article 3 of the document  stipulates that in cases specified by law or other normative legal  act, when public notification is provided for by publication of  information in the press, the public notification must also be posted  on the official website of the Republic of Armenia, azdarar.am. This  means that in two cases of public notification, publication of the  information on the official website azdarar.am is mandatory. Public  notification in the print media will no longer be required.

The minister also announced the imminent launch of another electronic  platform, Hartak.am, which will present all notifications, including  those from the judicial and legal system, as well as those from  citizens.  Access to this system will be by identification only.  There is every indication that this platform will be operational as  early as next month, but it will become fully accessible within three  months, once the relevant bylaws are adopted.