Street Performances to Be Regulated: Government Proposes Fines

The Government of Armenia approved a decision during today’s session regarding a package of non-reported issues that clarifies the legal relationships associated with street performances in cities.

According to the justification, the adoption of these projects is driven by the need to regulate the activities of individuals performing creative and cultural activities (musical, literary, dance, etc.) in outdoor spaces (streets, sidewalks, squares, parks, etc.) in Yerevan and urban areas. It is noted that creative and cultural activities performed in public outdoor spaces may cause significant inconveniences to other citizens.

This issue is not regulated by the Administrative Offenses Code of the Republic of Armenia, nor by laws such as “On Local Self-Government in Yerevan,” “On Local Self-Governance,” and “On Trade and Services,” among other legal acts.

The lack of regulations in the field of street creative performances has led to a situation where any individual or group performing street art can do so without restrictions, potentially inconveniencing residents and tourists, hindering citizens' rights to leisure and tranquility, and disrupting the peace of residents in multi-apartment buildings.

With the adoption of the proposed provisions, the authority to regulate street creative performances will be entrusted to the community council, which will establish regulations for cultural activities in public outdoor spaces.

According to the draft of the government's decision, there is no need for additional financial resources related to the adoption of these projects, and there are no significant increases or decreases in expenses and revenues in the budgets of state and local self-government bodies.

The amendment will introduce penalties for violating the conditions, requirements, and restrictions for the use of public outdoor spaces for cultural activities, imposing fines ranging from one hundred to two hundred times the minimum wage.

If the act described in part 1 of this article is repeated within one year after the application of administrative penalties, it will result in fines of five hundred to eight hundred times the minimum wage, along with confiscation of property belonging to the violator that is considered to be the instrument of those violations or without confiscation.

The legislative initiative of the Government will be presented to the National Assembly of Armenia in the established manner.