Tbilisi. The Bar Association, with the support of USAID/PROLoG, has published a handbook for lawyers – “Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights against Georgia”, which fact will greatly facilitate members of the Association in finding and applying precedential decisions of the Strasbourg Court. The handbook can be found at the link... Source: The website of the Association in a social network

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) calls on the Constitutional Court to timely review cases that are in its proceedings and are related to constitutionality of delegating authority of imposition of restrictions on labor and freedom of movement to the Government. “Prolonging revision of mentioned lawsuits in time will further harm the quality of protection of human rights, raise questions about effectiveness of constitutional justice, and compromise public confidence in the Constitutional Court”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information publishes an article: Covid-19 and Constitutional Review: Assessment of the Effectiveness of the constitutional of Georgia. “15 complaintson the restrictions related to the pandemic have already been filed during last 8 month. The Constitutional Court of Georgia has not issued any judgments on these lawsuits. Over the last 6 months, the Court has shown minimal and purely symbolic activity in regard to the cases related to the pandemic”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for Equality responds to the fact of murder of M.M. on November 14, 2020, on Temka and calls on law enforcement agencies to identify the alleged homophobic hate motive, while the media to refrain from encouraging discrimination.  Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. “Rights Georgia” condemns all acts of violence and calls on the Government as well as all political forces to: take care of and protect life and health of every individual, public order, right to freedom of assembly and expression and respective scopes guaranteed by local legislation and international law; avoid violence against journalists and interference with their professional activities. “Rights Georgia” expresses its readiness to protect legitimate interests of all people who have happened to get affected by unlawful actions. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia has applied to precinct and district commissions submitting a total of 108 complaints on violations related to the October 31 parliamentary elections. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. On November 5/6 online training was conducted for Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti police staff on the topic GBV, domestic violence and legal mechanisms, led by Mari Meskhi and Nodar saalashvili. The training was conducted within the frame of the project "Safe Environment for Women" which is implemented by the Anti-Violence Network of Geotgia in partnership with Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB). Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) releases the visualization on case statistics of the European court of Human Rights Concerning Georgia. “The European Court of Human Rights heard a total of 104 cases against Georgia in 1999-2019. In 83 cases the Court delivered a judgement against the state, finding at least one violation of the convention and in 17 cases the court found no violation”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes an evaluation: Justice related issues in pre-election programs of parties - 2020. “The document contains a review of visions and strategies of parties in regard to reforms to be carried out in the judiciary system, solution of problems that exist at law enforcement agencies, reformation of the State Security Service and drug policy issues. The common challenge is deficit of ideas consolidated by argumentative, realistic and specific plans on listed issues”, - is stated in the document. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. On October 23, International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI) and the Human Rights Center (HRC) conducted a presentation of a study – “Democracy and human rights in the conditions of pandemic and state of emergency”. “A group of researchers, invited by GDI and ISFED, spent four months studying both the legal framework, as well as international standards, and measures taken by the Government of Georgia in regard to the new coronavirus (COVID-19). HRC provides legal assistance to people affected by measures taken by the Government of Georgia. The project is implemented with the financial support of the Open Society Georgia Foundation. The purpose of the study was to work out critical analysis of the legal framework and develop relevant recommendations in regard to the existing shortcomings, on the one hand, while on the other hand, to evaluate constitutionality of regulations adopted by the Government of Georgia within 2020”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source:gdi.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes a report: State of the judiciary 2016-2020. “Present report contains a review of significant developments and legislative changes that have taken place in the judiciary system over the last four years, which provides an opportunity to both make their systemic analysis and evaluate situation existing within the judiciary. It may be noted that implemented reforms did not address those fundamental issues, which would ultimately ensure establishment of the independent judiciary system. The government has failed to demonstrate the political will to carry out a full and fundamental reform of the judiciary. Respectively, the judiciary system is still not freed from unhealthy influences”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The two-day preliminary hearing on the physical and psychological violence committed by the accused Nikoloz Basilashvili against his ex-wife Neli Dorokashvili in the presence of a minor ended yesterday. The judge explained that the evidence presented by the prosecutor's office provides a high degree of probability for the presumption that a guilty verdict would be handed down against Nikoloz Basilashvili on all five episodes. Due to the high public interest in this case, we provide the information about the ongoing processes. Read more… Source: phr.ge

Tbilisi. On October 19 and 20, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) submitted written opinions to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The document contained an evaluation of the state of execution of several decisions and rulings made by the European Court of Human Rights against Georgia. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Civil society organizations, operating in Georgia, appeal to the Government of Georgia and its relevant agencies, as well as international organizations and diplomatic corps, and urge them to take all appropriate measures under their mandate to protect the life, safety and rights of Irakli Bebua, detained in occupied Abkhazia, as well as to facilitate the process of his transfer to the Georgian-controlled territory. Read more… Source:emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center consider that the established vision of judicial reform needs to be changed. “On October 8, the Venice Commission published its opinions about latest legislative changes in regard to composition of the Supreme Court. Although an evaluation of the project was requested by the Parliament itself, it did not wait for the report and approved the draft on September 30. As it was expected, this hasty step of the legislative body was negatively appraised as by the Venice Commission itself, as well as by the European Union and co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Georgia. It is clear to us that effectiveness of a management system, based on the principle of majority (majoritarianism), serves only to increase injustice and enhance existing centers of power. Therefore, we see the solution in arranging inclusive, consensus-oriented decision-making mechanisms”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Civil Society Institute has published a guide for social enterprises and non-entrepreneurial legal entities.  Legislative acts of Georgia do not recognize such terms as a social enterprise and social entrepreneurship, however, there are entities that operate in Georgia and carry out social entrepreneurship. Interested people have the opportunity to carry out social entrepreneurship both via setting up a legal entity under private law and taking into account an established international experience. A social enterprise refers to those legal entities under private law that are functionally considered to be social enterprises and economic activities of which imply primarily the achievement of social goals. According to the legislation of Georgia, civil society organizations, which are meant to be non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities, along with their main activity are authorized to perform any activity that is not prohibited by law, including an ancillary entrepreneurial activity. As a matter of fact, an ancillary entrepreneurial activity may or may not be that of a social entrepreneurial nature. This guide is intended for both social entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities.  The guide covers issues related to legal management, financial accounting-accountability, and tax administration of legal entities under private law.  The guide is developed by the Civil Society Institute (authors: Levan Paniashvili, Chief Lawyer of the Institute, Davit Tivishvili, Financial Manager of the Institute) in collaboration with Social Enterprise Alliance and with the support of the International Center for Non-for-Profit Law (ICNL). Guide... 

Tbilisi. On October 9, there were conducted a presentation of a 10-point concept of judicial system reform and a signing ceremony, initiated by non-governmental organizations. “The concept was developed taking into consideration observations and studies of a number of years of the non-governmental sector. It aims at functional and systemic improvement of judicial system, enhancement of independence of judges and introduction of democratic mechanisms of internal governance. The document was signed by 8 political subjects, thus pledging to implement reforms given in the concept as soon as the new parliament is convened after the 2020 parliamentary elections. At the same time, it should be noted that the concept does not require constitutional changes”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

The European Court of Justice, Europe’s highest court, has ruled that ‘lex CEU’ violates Hungary’s commitments under the WTO, and infringes the provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union relating to academic freedom. The judgment from the European Court of Justice in Commission v Hungary (C-66/18) related to the Hungarian law amending the 2017 Law on higher education. The Court agreed with the European Commission that Hungary has breached WTO law, EU law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union “relating to academic freedom, the freedom to found higher education institutions and the freedom to conduct a business.” Today’s decision means that Lex CEU is no longer applicable. CEU is free to operate its US degree programs in Budapest. It is also an important moral and legal victory as well as a historic victory for academic freedom in Europe. Read more... Source: www.ceu.edu

Tbilisi. Civil society organizations of Georgia respond to the fact of detention of Iveri Melashvili and Natalia Ilychova, former members of the Border Delimitation and Demarcation Commission of the Government, by the Office of Prosecutor General on October 7. “We consider that the time of launching the investigation, the pre-election context, signs of selective approach during the investigation process and populist statements, made by leaders of the ruling party violating the presumption of innocence, raise suspicion that the investigation serves political motivations and aim at misleading citizens of Georgia as well as discrediting political opponents”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Shida Kartli. The Gori office of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association defended 2 people who were unlawfully dismissed from the Akhaltsikhe Municipality Assembly as a result of merging of the local self-government community and the city in 2017. “Both of them worked at the Akhaltsikhe Municipality Assembly for years before the reorganization of the self-government. They got dismissed while their positions were not abolished as a result of the reorganization. By the decision of the Supreme Court of Georgia, orders on dismissal were annulled, while the defendant was imposed to reinstate dismissed employees to the similar position and pay a compensation for the lost remuneration”. Read more… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Civil society organization call on investigative and security agencies of Georgia, as well as the Audit Office to respond adequately to information regarding the “Alliance of Patriots” publicized by “Dossier”. “”Dossier”, a platform for investigative journalism, which aims at exposing criminal groups of the Kremlin, published two reports on August 24 and 31. The reports emphasize links, as well as financial relations between the “Alliance of Patriots of Georgia” and the Kremlin. As “Dossier” affirms, the reports are based on documents obtained from the secretariat of Vladimir Chernov, Head of the Directorate for Inter-Regional Relations and Cultural Contacts with Foreign Countries at the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, and reveal a network that is close to the Kremlin and oversees relations with the “Alliance of Patriots”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. PMMG is highly concerned with the incidents as well as the facts of violence taken place in Marneuli and Sadakhlo on 28 and 29 September. On 28 September, in the village of Sadakhlo, Marneuli municipality, the activist of political party “European Georgia” was attacked. According to PMMG, interference in the works of media is unacceptable and consequently it calls upon the respective governmental institutions, to timely, impartially and effectively investigate the underlined incidents and display the respective stance regarding the identification and legal treatment of any individuals involved in the incidents. Read more... Source: The organization's page in the social network