Legal aspects of national spatial data infrastructure of Republic of Armenia

Abstract

Spatial data infrastructure (SDI) is a framework for collecting, storing, managing, and distributing spatial data. It is a critical component of any modern geographic information system (GIS) and is used in a wide range of applications, including land management, environmental monitoring, and emergency response. One important aspect of SDI is the legal component, which includes the laws and regulations that govern the collection, use, and sharing of spatial data. These laws and regulations can vary depending on the jurisdiction and can include issues such as data ownership, privacy and intellectual property rights. In the Republic of Armenia, with the concept of “Integrated Cadastre”, it is planned to implement and develop a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). Nevertheless, in the Republic of Armenia, not all stages of the implementation of NSDI have been developed yet, including a legal document defining the availability of data at different levels. For the implementation and effective policy development of NSDI, it is necessary to give attention to the regulation of legal relations regarding spatial data at different levels. For this purpose, we studied the legal documents related to the regulation of the field of spatial data in the Republic of Armenia, identified the contradictions and problems in the existing legal documents, which made it possible to highlight the necessary relevant legal provisions.