Tbilisi. Human Rights Center published - “INTERIM REPORT ON MONITORING PUBLIC ASSEMBLIES”.  “The Report identifies breaches of domestic legislation regarding the right to freedom of assembly and manifestation as well as its practical realization and offers legal analysis. Additionally, the Report assesses the activities of the law enforcement officers during the demonstrations in coherence with the law. The Report summarizes the monitoring results and key findings”. More… Source: Human Rights Center

Tbilisi. Under the leadership of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, 9 civil society organizations regularly evaluate the state of fulfillment of 12 priorities defined by the EU. “The fifth edition of their assessment document – EU CANDIDACY CHECK reflects the progress achieved by the Georgian authorities in this context until the period of August 1, 2023, as well as the current state of play and the steps to be implemented in the future by the authorities so that Georgia gets the EU Candidacy Status. According to CSOs’ assessments, at this stage, one priority is fully implemented, two priorities are mostly fulfilled, seven priorities are partially fulfilled, and two priorities (deoligarchisation and political polarization) defined by the European Union are to be fulfilled. The previous EU CANDIDACY CHECK documents have shown that civil society assessments are largely in line with the interim assessment presented by the EU on 22 June 2023. From June 20 to August 1, 2023, small progress has been made in terms of fulfilling the priorities such as media pluralism and involvement of CSOs in decision-making. In the first context, the President pardoned Nika Gvaramia, and on the other hand, the government considered certain recommendations of the civil society in the process of developing a number of draft laws”. Read more… Source: osgf.ge

Adjara. With the initiative of our Committee of concerned citizens, the electronic petition for the implementation of the “Municipal Program of Sterilization-Castration of Pets” in Kobuleti City Council has been launched. The purpose of this petition is to establish a pet sterilization-castration program in Kobuleti starting from the 2024 budget year, providing free services for citizens during the first two years, and to establish a shelter for homeless animals by 2025. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to the TI Georgia, over the past two years, Natia Kukuladze, a member of the National Communications Commission of Georgia, failed to disclose her salary, 5 pieces of real estate and her husband’s business. “After the publication of the above material, Natia Kukuladze stated that the violations were a surprise for her, so she appealed to the Public Service Bureau, which identified a "technical misunderstanding". Her declaration has already been amended. Firstly, we welcome Ms. Kukuladze's prompt reaction and hope that she will continue to fulfill her obligation to fully declare assets in the future”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia has studied large delayed infrastructure projects in Adjara and their progress. Similarly to the previous study, we have selected those projects whose implementation has started and relevant contracts were also concluded, although the dates of completion are still unclear despite a number of changes to the contracts. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. According to the TI Georgia, the organization of the former Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Dimitri Kumsishvili, receives money without a tender from the legal entity of public law (LEPL), which was subordinated to him during his tenure as Minister of Economy. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Samtskhe-Javakheti. Transparency International Georgia has studied the public procurements won by Megobroba-5 LLC – the company of Martin Gabrielyani, the Director of a municipal NNLE – in the Akhalkalaki Municipality.   “Since the publication of our study, the State Procurement Agency has established more than 20 violations in these procurements and sent the administrative offense report to the Tbilisi City Court.  The Court gave a verbal warning to members of the tendering commission of the Akhalkalaki City Hall”. See the details of the study here… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center publishes the document: Politics of Crime Prevention in Georgia. “Crime prevention has a significant role in the life of a society. Its function is the creation of a safe and secure environment for people. Effective crime prevention policy contributes to avoidance of crime and victimization, also development of strong and vibrant communities. The present document studies crime prevention politics in Georgia. The document aims to assess how robust the steps taken by appropriate authorities are for changing the established practices of prevention and for their improvement”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Samegrelo. According to the Transparency International Georgia "Road Plus" LLC and "Building Group 17" LLC, which are connected to Zaza Antia, a friend and classmate of Zugdidi Mayor Mamuka Tsotseria and Deputy State Trustee in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, Davit Kukhaleishvili, are being awarded local procurement contracts. “Since 2018, companies have been awarded tenders amounting to 22,108,948 GEL. Within this sum, Zugdidi City Hall has made purchases worth 12,129,286 GEL”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Under the leadership of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, 8 civil society organizations presented the fourth edition of an assessment document – EU CANDIDACY CHECK, which reflects the progress achieved by the Georgian authorities in this context until the period of June 15, 2023, as well as the current state of play and the steps to be implemented in the future. “According to CSOs’ assessments, at this stage, one priority is fully implemented, two priorities are mostly fulfilled, five priorities are partially fulfilled, and four priorities defined by the European Union are to be fulfilled”. Read more… Source: osgf.ge

Regions. IDFI held three days of training sessions in Kutaisi, Ozurgeti, and Zugdidi from June 21 to 23 on practical methods and techniques for monitoring government activities. The training was intended for local civil society organizations, activists, journalists, and students. Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. According to the TI Georgia, for the first time in 20 years, the Government of Georgia opted out of participating in the monitoring round of the OECD's Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (OECD/ACN). Georgia is the only country that did not endorse the monitoring, unlike Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Mongolia. “The signatory organizations call on the Government of Georgia to resume participation in the monitoring process initiated under the Istanbul Action Plan (IAP) program and to continue cooperation with the OECD's Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (OECD/ACN)”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary reacts to the amendments in the Organic Law on Common Courts. “On June 13, the Parliament of Georgia adopted amendments to the Organic Law of Georgia on Common Courts in the third reading. The Georgian Dream’s stated purpose of adopting the amendments was to fulfill the recommendations of the European Commission. However, according to the Venice Commission’s opinion, the draft law did not meet its recommendations concerning the judiciary.  That is why the Coalition calls on: The President of Georgia to submit the Law to the Venice Commission for urgent opinion; and The President and the Parliament of Georgia, if necessary, to use the constitutional mechanisms that will ensure the reflection of the fundamental justice sector reforms in the law in accordance with the Venice Commission’s recommendations”. Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On June 14, Civil Society Institute (SCI), in partnership with European Center for Non-for-Profit Law (ECNL) and Partners Georgia held a discussion meeting, which aimed at increasing the engagement of civil society and consolidation of CSOs’ visions around Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT). See more… Source: civilin.org

Tbilisi. According to the IDFI, the new law significantly changed the balance between the personal data protection and the transparency and established new standards of publicity, which should be considered a positive development. The parliament took into account a number of IDFI’s recommendations and the norms, which in many cases were the basis for limiting access to information by public institutions, were changed and replaced with unambiguous regulations. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Samtskhe-Javakheti. According to the Transparency International Georgia, a significant number of property declarations from 202 officials in Samtskhe-Javakheti municipalities contain various violations. Click here to view a detailed breakdown of the types of violations identified… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information shares the survey: Analysis of Overall Statistical Data on General Courts of Georgia 2010-2022”. “The analysis of the overall statistical data received from the Supreme Court of Georgia shows that in 2022, compared to the previous year, the number of appeals to the court for all three categories of cases has increased. The highest rate of criminal cases filed since 2010 was recorded in 2022, which can to some extent be attributed to the deterioration of the criminogenic environment in the country. It is worth noting that the share of acquittals in criminal cases has significantly increased in the last 5 years, which on the one hand may be due to the raising of the standard of evidence required by the court to prove guilt, and on the other hand to the increase in the number of criminal cases conducted by investigative agencies in an unqualified manner”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia previously wrote about the reasons why a register of beneficial owners (BO) needs to be set up in Georgia. The organization spoke about the need for citizens to know who ultimately owns companies that are strategically important for the country as well as the fact that the creation of such a register would help Georgia’s EU integration and the fulfillment of other international obligations. “Since then, another important reason for creating the registry appeared. After Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent decision by Western countries to fully engage their sanctions regimes, beneficial ownership registries have become one of the main tools for tracing sanctioned persons and their assets. In Georgia, where traces of ownership of many strategically important companies lead to Russia, and where economic dependence on Russia is growing at a rapid pace, setting up a register of beneficial owners is a necessity. Such a register will enable the identification of entities under Western sanctions and help mitigate risks associated with Russian capital in general”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes the Newsletter for quarterly political donations. “From January 1 up to March 31, 2023, all the parties have received donations of GEL 640,569 in total. Almost half of this amount – GEL 300,000 – went to the ruling party, Lelo for Georgia ranked second with GEL 201,000, and European Georgia – Movement for Liberty ranked third with GEL 84,299”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. According to the TI Georgia, Four companies linked with a member of the Parliament of Georgia, Zaal Dugladze, have received a total of GEL 8,562,573 through the State Agrocredit Program in the years 2013-2022. “Along with Zaal Dugladze, a brother of Bidzina Ivanishvili, Alexander Ivanishvili, has business interests in the companies. One of the beneficiaries of the preferential agro-credit program is Dugladze Wine Company LLC, which has benefited from the program more often than any other physical and legal persons – 45 times in total – and received GEL 4,335,895 as cheap financial resource”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Kakheti. On April 26th, USAID representatives, together with staff from MAC Georgia, conducted a monitoring visit to the Lagodekhi Independent Living Center. The Lagodekhi ILC Leaders informed the guests about the center operations, current initiatives, and general achievements. Since its establishment in May 2021, the Lagodekhi ILC has served more than 490 persons with disabilities and their family members, offering peer support, referral provision, awareness raising, needs assessments, and advocacy/rights protection. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) shares with you the annual report 2022. The annual report contains information regarding the activities and achievements of IDFI in the following thematic areas: Open Government, Fighting Corruption, Economic and Social Policy, Rule of Law and Human Rights, Local Government, Media and Freedom of Expression, Internet and Innovations, Memory and disinformation studies. Source: idfi.ge