Payment of State Duty Delayed for Citizens Filing Claims for Non-Material Damage

The payment of state duty will be delayed for citizens filing claims for non-material damage caused by violations of their fundamental rights. The draft law on amendments and supplements to the law on state duty has been approved by the National Assembly's permanent commission on legal affairs.

“We propose to provide for the postponement of the state duty payment deadline in Article 22 of the law on state duty for claims of non-material damage caused by violations of fundamental rights, if the preliminary investigation body—the prosecutor or the court—has confirmed the fact of a violation of rights due to the actions or inaction of the state or local self-government bodies or their officials,” said Deputy Minister of Justice Anna Karapetyan.

According to her, the draft law outlines the scope of fundamental rights based on the rights defined in the Civil Code for which non-material damage compensation is provided in case of violation by the state. These include the right to life, the right to be free from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to personal liberty, inviolability, and others.

“With the adoption of the draft, it will be possible to establish a procedure for compensation for non-material damage caused by the state for the full realization of the right to a fair trial, which is part of the right to access to courts. Thus, we are providing an additional guarantee for the protection of a person’s right to a fair trial by enabling the submission of claims without the constraint of making a payment at the time of filing,” the deputy minister added.