YEREVAN. – The hearing on the appeal to not permitting the advertisement of second President Robert Kocharyan's book, entitled Life and Freedom, started today at the Administrative Court of Armenia.

The plaintiff's legal representative, Aleksandr Kochubayev, told the court that the decision of the Yerevan Council of Elders, which regulates the adoption of a favorable administrative act for the parties in this case, conditions the existence of two administrative bodies. "That is, fact-finding activity carried out by the relevant administrative district and, on the basis of that fact-finding work, the administrative act is adopted by the competent division of the [Yerevan] municipality, which is the second defendant in the case, the advertising department," he said. "Both administrative authorities have allowed unlawful actions that have resulted in a refusal to adopt a favorable administrative act."

And Aram Martirosyan, the legal representative of the defendant, head of the Kentron district, said that the relevant subdivision of the city hall cannot be separated. "There is head of the administrative district, and other staff carries out activities on behalf of the Yerevan community," he said. “We therefore find that the separation and involvement as a separate participant in the proceedings are unlawful; in this case, the Yerevan Municipality may act as a proper defendant.”