VIDEO: "There is hardly a topic in Armenia that I am not connected with" - Alen Simonyan

During a session of the National Assembly, Speaker Alen Simonyan posed a question to the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, Karen Andreasian. Simonyan stated: “Numerous decisions are made regarding defamation and insult claims. Even when the court agrees that an insult or defamation has occurred, judges still avoid setting a high amount of compensation. This is not about placing the responding party in an extremely difficult situation, but there is another extreme where the incurred costs of the plaintiff—such as legal fees and state duties—are not compensated at all. There are many such cases, including those I have presented, where the court simply sets a minimal threshold. I really want to raise this issue; I would like to hear your opinion.”

Andreasian replied, “I already had my answer prepared for your question, but as you mentioned that there are certain issues related to you, this immediately limited me, as it may influence your current cases. Therefore, I refrain from discussing the general issue more specifically so that this is not perceived as pressure from the Supreme Judicial Council or from me personally on the judges. I can provide a slight theoretical analysis and state the following: the judge has a discretion framework, and this framework is provided by the legislator. You mentioned that you could discuss and understand, depending on the case situation, the damage that needs to be compensated to the person whose dignity has been violated; you need to determine this within a monetary limit. This is based on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, which states that every time, the court independently decides what type of responsibility the subject abusing freedom of speech should bear based on their financial situation. This internal threshold can be clarified through legislation, which would help the judge orient more accurately within their discretionary powers.”

The Speaker of the National Assembly responded: “Unfortunately, my cross is probably heavy, because there is hardly a topic in Armenia that I am not connected with. But I understand that you cannot respond for the reasons you have mentioned.”

For more details, watch the video.