Marukyan on the Search of Lawyer Hovhannes Chamsaryan's Office by the NSS

The leader of the LHK faction in the National Assembly, Edmon Marukyan, addressed the incident of the search of lawyer Hovhannes Chamsaryan's office by the NSS on his Facebook page. The following is the post:

"I just learned that the office of lawyer Hovhannes Chamsaryan was searched by an NSS investigator, who also seized the computer, while the office's computers contain numerous documents that hold attorney-client privilege. The investigator stated that there had been forgery regarding the case of ‘Ashtarak Dairy,’ which may have been committed using the office's computer.

According to our information, the court's decision has not been provided to the party involved. Furthermore, it appears that the court has made a 'reservation' in its decision for cases where the storage device does not contain attorney-client privilege.

We emphasize that attorney-client privilege is a legally protected secret. According to Article 25 of the Law on Advocacy of the Republic of Armenia, the following types of information and evidence are considered attorney-client privilege: information and evidence transferred to the lawyer by a person seeking legal assistance, the content and nature of legal advice given by the lawyer, and any information and evidence (materials, storage devices) obtained by the lawyer during the exercise of their professional activities.

The lawyer, non-lawyers working with the lawyer, and employees of the bar association have no right to disclose attorney-client privilege, except in the following cases: 1) there is client consent; 2) it is necessary to substantiate claims in a legal dispute or disciplinary proceeding between the client and the lawyer; 3) it is necessary to provide information classified as attorney-client privilege regarding suspected money laundering or terrorist financing according to the Republic of Armenia's law on combating money laundering and terrorist financing, based on a request from an authorized body.

Moreover, a lawyer may disclose attorney-client privilege if there is information about a serious or particularly serious crime known under the Criminal Code of Armenia.

The obligation to maintain attorney-client privilege is not limited by time and applies even to individuals whose license for legal activity has been suspended or revoked.

Thus, none of the specific and restricted conditions mentioned above applies in this situation, while the NSS Investigative Division, by violating this norm, seized the lawyer's computer, which undoubtedly contains legally protected commercial, attorney-client, and numerous other secrets.

According to parts 6 and 7 of Article 21 of the same law:

- The home, vehicle, or office of a lawyer, as well as the office of a law firm, cannot be searched regarding circumstances related to the lawyer's professional activities.

- Documents and information storage devices regarding legal assistance located with the lawyer or in the office of a law firm are inviolable, cannot be seized and cannot be used as evidence.

The ‘Bright Armenia’ faction condemns these actions of the NSS Investigative Division in the strongest possible terms and demands the return of the computers from the lawyer's office and respect for the legislation guaranteeing the preservation of attorney-client privilege. Otherwise, this disgraceful incident will become a precedent for Armenia to be listed among the countries where the rule of law holds no value."