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Private companies, too, are required to provide information According to the Law on Freedom of Information, which came into force on November
15, 2003, not only state agencies, but also private organizations that provide
social services are required to provide the public with information. This is because
the state has handed over to the private sector the maintenance and management
of a number of social services. According to the law, private social service organizations
are required to provide requested information within five days. The law singles out two types of organizations. The first consists of private organizations that provide services in such important spheres of public life as health care, sports, education, culture, social security, trade, transport and communications. Thus private colleges, schools, hospitals, clinics and other organizations, in addition to providing important services to the public, are also required to act openly and transparently. The second group is made up of the organizations which have a monopolistic or dominant position in the market. “If a company has no competitors, we, in accordance with the law, categorize it as having a dominant position. In Armenia, the only companies that have no competitors are the ArmenTel telephone company and some airport services that have been given by exclusive concession agreement to the Armenian international airport. Some companies that import sugar, or deal in non-filter cigarettes in the commodities market are close to having a monopoly. Their volume of trade is 80-90%, so we consider them as having no important competitors,” says Aram Ghukasyan, the head of the investigations department of the State Commission on Economic Competition Protection. The commission publishes an annual list of companies with a dominant position in the market that includes addresses, commodities, percentages, etc. As of November 2003, Nemrut Information Analytical Center, Astghatsolk, Shant Plus, Multi Leon, Teletext Limited Liability Companies, Armenia Telephone Company, ExIm Petros Group, Dvin Holding Companies, and Grand Tobacco, a total of twelve companies, were registered as having a dominant position: The new law notwithstanding, the public cannot ask private organizations that provide social services for all types of information because their commercial secrets are protected, according to the Civil Code--“Persons who illegally obtained information constituting a commercial secret are required to indemnify for induced losses,” (Article 141), and the Law on Economic Competition Protection-- “In cases of publication of information constituting a commercial secret of a company the losses caused to the company are subject to indemnification from the state budget.” (Art. 33). The law protects commercial secrets, but it also guarantees citizens the right to obtain certain information. Thus, according to the new Criminal Code, which came into force on August 1, 2003, “Unlawful refusal by an official to give a citizen information or giving incomplete or intentionally distorted information, if it caused damage to citizen’s lawful interests, is punishable by a fine from 200 to 400 times the minimum wage.” (Art. 148). Businesses with a dominant position in the market (2003)
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