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

Tbilisi. Civil society organizations respond to facts of interrogation of lawyers of the family of Tamar Bachaliashvili in the presence of a magistrate judge, as well as seizure of a personal mobile phone of Mikheil Ramishvili within the framework of an investigation launched on the ground of the fact of falsification of evidences by the Prosecutor’s Office. CSOs consider that these actions might be acknowledged as deliberate attempt to use justice for other purposes, in particular - to influence the position of the family of Bachaliashvili and defenders of her rights. “We call on the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia to remain in the legal space, immediately stop any type of interference in the activities of lawyers and respect their professional independence”, - is noted in the joint statement. Read more… Source: gdi.ge

Tbilisi. Sapari succeeded in the case of Nana Gogaladze, a victim of systematic domestic violence, who was brought to trial for wounding her offensive husband. Through the efforts of the organization, there have been revealed circumstances for legitimacy of the necessary repulsion, interrogated a number of witnesses, and carried out certain investigative actions in the case. As a result, the Tbilisi City Court qualified the case as a necessary repulsion and ruled out a decision to acquit Nana Gogaladze. The accusing party appealed against this verdict and demanded to declare Nana Gogaladze guilty as well as to punish her under Article 117 of the Criminal Code. The Tbilisi Court of Appeals rejected the appeal of the Vake-Saburtalo District Prosecutor and left the first-instance decision of acquittal in force. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) published the statement.  “Based on the appeals of “Institute for Development of Freedom of Information” and “Media Development Foundation” the Constitutional Court of Georgia, by its decision of June 7, 2019, ruled that the provisions of the Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection, specifically Article 5 and paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 6 were unconstitutional as they prohibited access to the full text of court decisions delivered within the scope of public hearings by Common Courts of Georgia. According to the constitutional court, any decision rendered in the process of adjudication should be open unless there is a substantiated necessity to restrict its accessibility. The Court declared the disputed norms void from May 2020 and thus gave the Parliament of Georgia time to harmonize existing legislation with the requirements of the Constitution, but the Parliament has not adopted appropriate legislative amendments within the prescribed time frame. Although no changes have been made to the legislation to date, from May 1, 2020 the provisions of the Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection, that restrict access to the full text of court decisions delivered within the scope of public hearings by Common Courts of Georgia, are abolished”, - is mentioned in the statement, - “IDFI requested the full text of the judgments rendered in May 2020 from several common courts. In response to our requests, courts stated that they are obliged to protect the personal data contained in the judicial acts from disclosure, therefore, they cannot provide us with the full texts of court decisions (without personal data being redacted)”.  Read more…  Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. EU4Justice is pleased to introduce a new publication (GEO) on selected issues of EU law.  Read more…  Source: Page in the social network

Tbilisi. A new Handbook on legal issues of domestic violence and violence against women for law students is initiated with USAID/PROLoG’s support. “The aim of drafting the handbook is to create a comprehensive teaching material, to collect all existing legislation on domestic violence and violence against women as well as commentaries theron in order to make it easily accessible for law students”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes a viewpoint – “Reform of law enforcement system - Real perspective beyond election slogans." “The ruling political force has failed to mobilize enough resources and courage for systemic reforms at any stage. While fragmentary changes have not appeared sufficient for significant transformation”, - is stated in the document, - “High risk of political influence, weak accountability and strict centralized hierarchy are the main challenges that the law enforcement system faces today. Challenges require comprehensive brainstorming as well as changes that are consistent and compatible to the existing model of state arrangement”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes analysis of legislation and practice of secret surveillance in Georgia. “Under the current regulations, there is little trust that in the conduct of secret investigative measures state interference in private life would be proportional to its legitimate aim. Lack of trust towards the government is dwelling from its reluctance to address the challenges, which are being highlighted by various international as well as domestic organizations”, is noted in the analytical document. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. “Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC)” responds to a resolution adopted by the European Parliament on September 16 of the current year. The resolution is about the implementation of the Association Agreement between Georgia and the European Union and contains an evaluation of the development of the country in various directions, including those related to the rule of law, human rights, and justice issues. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia negatively assesses the new draft law submitted to the Parliament of Georgia relating to the changes to the rules of selection of Supreme Court judicial candidates. “The proposed amendments fragmentally focus on certain aspects of the selection of Supreme Court judicial candidates, while the main recommendations of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR regarding the shortcomings in the selection process remain unresolved”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. In August of this year, four non-governmental organizations – “Rights Georgia”, the “Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association”, “Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center” and the “Institute for Development of Freedom of Information” - addressed the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia demanding to publicize information regarding criminal proceedings brought against judges in 2012-2020 years. “The purpose of demanding information is to reveal how often criminal investigations and prosecutions against incumbent judges were carried out since the Georgian Dream came to power, and whether this mechanism was used to put direct and indirect pressure on judges”, - is stated on the website of “Rights Georgia” in a social network. Read more… Source:The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary believes that the proposed draft amendments to the Law of Georgia on Common Courts are fragmented and do not address the challenges and problems that are characteristic not only to the process of selection of the Supreme Court judges but also to the judiciary, in general. The bill is concerned with the duty of the High Council of Justice to make reasoned decisions regarding Supreme Court judicial candidates, as well as with candidates’ ability to appeal these decisions. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) responds to an unfortunate incident that occurred at a mine in Shukruti, Chiatura, and resulted in death of a 46-year-old miner. EMC calls on the state to ensure safe work. “The accident took place on August 24 of the current yearat a VakeTkeOtkhi (plain forest four) mine. According to reports, a tractor ran over the miner during the working process. Working conditions of people employed atChiatura mines remain tough for years. Along with low remuneration, labor rights of those employed are systematically violated. Employees risk their life and health on a daily basis due to non-compliance with labor safety rules”. Read more… Source:emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Public Defender Nino Lomjaria met with family members of deceased programmer Tamar Bachaliashvili and their lawyer. According to the Public Defender, she is ready to be involved in the examination of the case and to explore the criminal case materials together with the lawyer of the family. The Public Defender also plans to meet with Prosecutor General Irakli Shotadze and hear answers to questions around the case personally from him. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association submitted its opinion of a “Friend of the Court” in regard to the case – “N(N)LE Political Union of Citizens “New Political Center”, Herman Sabo, ZurabGirchiJaparidze and Ana Chikovani v. the Parliament of Georgia” tothe Constitutional Court. “The Constitutional Court will review the case on September 2. The plaintiff disputes constitutionality of the norm of the Electoral Code, which requires a political party to have every fourth candidate in its proportional representation list filled by a representative of an opposite sex (for example, if the first three in the list aremen, the fourth candidate must necessarily be a woman). The plaintiff considers that this article contradicts the right to free elections guaranteed by Article 24 of the Constitution”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Adjara. The Democracy Research Institute conducted one-day training on the basic principles of juvenile justice on 15 August in Batumi. Trainer was Maia Nasrashvili. “The training was conducted in the framework of the project - Cooperation for Improvement of Juvenile Justice Standards. The project is being implemented with the financial support of EU/UNDP joint initiative COBERM”. Read more… Source: Organization’s page in a social network