19.09.2008 - Source: US Department of State

The April 2007 Law on the Relations of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Church regulates the special relations between the state and the Armenian Church ("International Religious Freedom Report 2008") [ID 24788]

"The April 2007 Law on the Relations of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Church regulates the special relations between the state and the Armenian Church and grants certain privileges to the Armenian Church that are not available to other religious groups. It makes the Armenian Church's marriage rite legally binding, but the supporting legal acts to enforce this were not in place at the end of the period covered by this report. The law also allows the Armenian Church to have permanent representatives in hospitals, orphanages, boarding schools, military units, and all places of detentions, while the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations permits other religious organizations to have representatives in these places on demand only. In general, the Law on the Relations of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Church formally recognizes the moral as well as ethnic role that the Armenian Church plays in society, as most citizens see it as an integral part of national identity, history, and cultural heritage."

Document(s): Open document

25.08.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Proposed new law intended to protect the rights of minorities in Armenia has met with lukewarm response from members of the country’s small ethnic communities ("Armenia Debates Ethnic Rights") [#25139],  [ID 2935]

Document(s): Open document

03.03.2004 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

English full text translation of the Law on Refugees of the Republic of Armenia of 3 March 1999 as amended on 3 March 2004 ("Law on Refugees of the Republic of Armenia") [ID 23825]

Document(s): Open document

08.05.2003 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Although many laws prohibit torture and inhuman punishment, there remain problems ("Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Armenia") [#12599],  [ID 2936]

"Armenia is party to both the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and – since 2002 - the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and its Protocols 1 and 2. Just like these conventions, the Armenian Constitution, Correctional Labor Code (CLC) and the law “On the Police” prohibited torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. Yet, torture and other forms of inhuman treatment were a widespread problem. Article 121 of the new Criminal Code defines torture and establishes accountability for it, but article 110 of the Code still in force in 2002 did not define torture although it provided for a punishment for its use. Under article 105 of the new Criminal Procedure Code the court must dismiss all evidence obtained under illegal means, however, judges typically ignored the defendants’ claims that they had been tortured or ill-treated to confess."

Document(s): Open document