Property rights focus of training course supported by OSCE Office in Yerevan

YEREVAN, 30 October 2009 - Some 35 representatives of state and civil society organizations, lawyers, judges, international and local experts discussed how the right to property is applied in Armenia and international standards for such rights at an OSCE-supported training course that started today in Yerevan.

A non-governmental organization, the Armenian Institute for Development, organized the two-day event, with support from the OSCE Office in Yerevan, the Netherlands Helsinki Committee, the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights, the American Bar Association and the British Embassy in Armenia.

Participants discussed how to ensure that public and individual interests are adequately balanced and considered during the urban and spatial planning development process. The event focused on how local courts apply the provisions of the European Convention for Human Rights.

"Protection of property rights is a fundamental human right and is critical to the establishment of the rule of law and for economic development," said the Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, Ambassador Sergey Kapinos. "Armenian legislation and practice must protect individuals from disproportionate interferences with the right to property, as required by the European Convention for Human Rights."

Arthur Grigoryan, a defence lawyer who led the training course, said legal analysis of recent cases of property being claimed for public interest showed that the legislative regulation was insufficient, and that domestic legal remedies failed to protect the affected property owners. He said he hoped that ongoing efforts by the authorities would provide adequate protection.