Tbilisi. On February 10, 2020, Public Defender filed an amicus curiae brief with the Constitutional Court of Georgia relating Nikanor Melia’s constitutional suit that argues the constitutionality of the Parliament’s decision to deprive the MP from his authority. “According to Tbilisi City Court’s ruling of 2 December 2019, Nukanor Melia was fined and deprived of his right to hold public office, on the basis of which, he was deprived of his parliamentary power on December 12”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Part of the civil society organizations respond to the February 10, 2020 decision of the Supreme Court of Georgia on the case of Gigi Ugulava, according to which the leader of the opposition party has been convicted to imprisonment for three years, two months and eight days. “We call on the Government of Georgia, the ruling party and Bidzina Ivanishvili, the informal leader of the country, to stop applying selective justice against opponents and dissenters, facilitate solution of the political crisis in a constructive mode and, instead of interests of the party, set population and the country development interests as a priority”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes an article of Tornike Gerliani – “Reform of the electoral system: Bill of the opposition and the issue of its compliance with the Constitution”. The article is about a report that has been released by the OSCE/ODIHR in response to the address of the Public Defender of Georgia and relates to an electoral reform proposed by the opposition (so-called German model). “The report of ODIHR states at the beginning that “the final decision on compliance of law with the constitution must be taken by local courts. This opinion reviews proposed changes and analyzes them with respect to relevant international obligations and standards ...” Besides, as ODIHR indicates, “all proposed changes should be considered attentively and adopted on the basis of a broad consensus among political parties.” The report contains a review of compliance of the bill with democratic approaches and principles, recognized internationally. In this part ODIHR indicates that “the presented package does not propose those changes to election regulations, which would have an impact on the issue of compliance with principles of a universal, free, secret and direct voting right.” Thus, the report does not touch upon the issue of constitutionality of the proposed bill, however, it indicates its compliance with internationally recognized principles,” – is stated in the article, - “despite the fact that the report of ODIHR does not appraise the issue of constitutionality of the bill, it is important to evaluate this subject theoretically so as not to marginalize the idea, which may facilitate to conduct 2020 Parliamentary Elections within the framework of a fair electoral system based on a broad consensus of the society”. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The European Court of Human Rights found Article 2 of the Convention - the right to life (procedural part) violated in the case - “Sakvarelidze v. Georgia”. The respondent state was ordered to pay EUR25000 to the plaintiff due to a non-material loss.  “Information about the decision of the Strasbourg court was published today. With the legal assistance of the Human Rights Center, Mariam Sakvarelidze, the victim, applied to the Strasbourg court in 2010. Main demand of the victim was to urge the state to investigate the case of Davit Sakvarelidze and Eter Tsuliashvili, both dead as a result of a collision between an armored personnel carrier of a Ministry of Security and a vehicle of the “BMW” brand on November 22, 2003”, - is stated on the website of the organization in a social network.  Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The Public Defender’s Office of Georgia has studied the practice of early conditional release of convicts and replacement of the unserved part of a sentence with a lighter penalty.  The Public Defender believes that proper functioning of the mechanism requires that certain measures be taken in a timely manner, so that prisoners can be fully focused on proper fulfilment of their obligations during serving their sentences and the process of re-socialization, and thus be hopeful for the effective use of the mechanism.  Read more…  Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On 31 January 2020, GDI presented its report on Freedom of Expression in Georgia. The report was prepared with the financial support of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, within the project – Litigation for Freedom of Expression. „The report aims at analysing the recent situation regarding freedom of expression in Georgia. It also covers the cases litigated by GDI before the national and regional courts as well as the Constitutional Court of Georgia. The GDI team has identified practical examples and trends in terms of restriction of the right to freedom of expression by the national authorities in different aspects”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: gdi.ge

Tbilisi. “Media Advocacy Coalition” releases a statement in regard to the attack on Nika Gvaramia. “Nika Gvaramia has been injured as a result of the incident, however we do not know yet whether any of the eyewitnesses was interrogated and other necessary investigative actions were taken or not. With this in mind, the Coalition calls on law enforcement agencies to carry out a timely, comprehensive, effective and impartial investigation into this particular incident. The Coalition also considers it important to identify perpetrators and impose responsibility in a timely manner in order to prevent similar incidents in the future”, - is stated on the website of the organization.  Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia would like to respond to the illegal public disclosure of the details of the Public Defender's meeting with inmates by the Special Penitentiary Service/Ministry of Justice on January 23, 2020. “The identities of persons met by the Public Defender or his/her representatives shall be confidential and its disclosure represents interference with the Public Defender's activities for the purpose of influencing him/her and hampering his/her work. The mentioned represents an offense under Article 352 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. Yesterday's statement was the continuation of a campaign of political attack launched by the Minister of Justice of Georgia against the Public Defender’s institution. It is dangerous and inadmissible that the Minister of Justice uses a body such as the Special Penitentiary Service, where persons with different political views are serving their sentences, for political purposes”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On January 23, Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) presented the report “The Supreme Court of Georgia – Analysis of Institutional and Legal Framework”. “The study examines the institutional and legal framework created as a result of amendments within the scope of the so-called ‘third wave’ and the constitutional reform. The report analyzes key issues, such as the role and the place of the Supreme Court in the judicial system, selection and appointment of the Supreme Court justices, powers of the Chairperson, liability of judges/chairperson, competence of the Supreme Court Plenum, work of the chambers and distribution of cases”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On January 22, 2020, the Public Defender addressed the State Inspector with a request to examine the lawfulness of public disclosure of video footage by the Minister of Justice at the sitting of the Parliament’s Committee on Human Rights and Civil Integration on January 21, 2020. “Two of the video recordings depicted certain episodes of the meeting between the Public Defender’s representatives and prisoners at the penitentiary establishments. On the same day, the videos were posted on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Justice as well. The faces of the Public Defender’s representatives were not blurred out in the publicly available videos and they can be easily identified. It is noteworthy that the Organic Law of Georgia on the Public Defender of Georgia prohibits any kind of video-audio surveillance of a meeting between the Public Defender's representatives and prisoners by the Ministry of Justice”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. According to the statement of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), the State Inspector should immediately launch an investigation in videos released by the Minister of Justice. “Showing video recordings publicly threatens credibility of the mandate of the Public Defender and implementation of her constitutional authority. It is also noteworthy that the alleged violation is committed by a state-political official and disseminated recordings have been broadcasted publicly. In view of the above, we consider it is necessary that the State Inspector start an investigation”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. GYLA has submitted its assessment report to the Parliament of Georgia, which is related to the bill on the amendment to the “Law of Georgia on Information Security”, initiated by Irakli Sesiashvili, Member of Parliament.  “The bill allows the operative-technical agency to have a direct access to information possessed by public agencies, including personal data and network sensors, while in the case of information shared through internet service providers – an indirect access, which fact will enable the agency to control any information spread through the Internet.  It is also noteworthy that the process of revision of this bill is carried out with substantial violations as it envisages important grounds for restriction of fundamental rights, while the Committee on Human Rights and Civil Integration is not part of the process as a mandatory committee. In view of the above, we call on the Parliament of Georgia to carry out the legislative process with the involvement of all relevant committees, not allow the bill to be adopted in the proposed form and ensure the review of the bill is carried out only through broad public engagement and discussion”, - is stated in the report.  Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) has got familiarized with the case of Temirlan Machalikashvili, classified as secret till present.  “On January 10 of this year, when the European Court began a substantive hearing on the case – “Machalikashvili and others v. Georgia” and demanded the Government of Georgia to fully disclose the case file, we were given the opportunity to access confidential materials of the case”, - is noted in the statement released by the organization, - “Overall, the ongoing investigation, in our opinion, is formal, ineffective and illusory, and an arbitrary intervention of the State Security Agency into the investigation process has been clearly observed, which fact violates the fundamental principle of institutional independence of investigation”.  Read more… Source: https://emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Following the appointment of Shalva Tadumadze, former Prosecutor General, as a judge of the Supreme Court, the Prosecutors’ Council is obliged to assign a new Prosecutor General. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary releases a statement in this regard.  “In order to have a high level of public confidence in the process, it is necessary that: the Prosecutors’ Council develop procedures and criteria for conducting competition, which, in turn, ensures more active involvement of civil/professional groups in the process of selection of candidates; in each decision taken in regard to selection - nomination of candidates, the Council justify that candidates meet criteria required to take a position of Prosecutor General; the ruling political party make sure the Prosecutor General is not selected on the grounds of narrow political interests of the party and the final decision made in parliament is based on a consensus among various political forces”, - is noted in the statement.  Read more… Source: https://idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) evaluates conditions in which Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze is. “EMC considers that Giorgi Mamaladze should have an opportunity to receive adequate medical treatment outside the penitentiary institution and return to the place of imprisonment in the case if his health condition improves”, - is noted in the statement of the organization. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary prepared an assessment of candidates for supreme court judges. ‘For the first time in the history of Georgia, the Supreme Court justices were appointed for life. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary closely observed all stages of this process. The report assesses Supreme Court judicial candidates based on the analysis of Parliamentary hearings. The document includes assessments of 19 candidates based on the criteria of integrity and competence as defined by the Law of Georgia on Common Courts’, - Is mentioned in the assessment. Assessment Source: The web-page of the Coalition

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia is responding to the President's refusal to pardon Giorgi Mamaladze.  ‘The Public Defender of Georgia once again reminds public of the substantive shortcomings identified in the investigation and trial of the cyanide case, which have repeatedly served as basis for the Public Defender’s statements on the issue of pardoning of Giorgi Mamaladze’, - is mentioned in the statement of the Public Defender of Georgia, - ‘As a result of fully studying both the investigation and the closed trial, the Public Defender published a monitoring report indicating the procedural shortcomings of the investigation that were not rectified during the trial and had a decisive impact on the final outcome of the trial’.  Read more…  Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Public Defender made a Statement on Submission of 6 Supreme Court Judicial Candidates to Parliament. ‘Yesterday, on December 26, the High Council of Justice submitted 6 Supreme Court judicial candidates to the Parliament of Georgia. The Public Defender identified the same shortcomings that had been identified at previous stages of the selection process’, - is mentioned in the statement, - “All 6 candidates were interviewed by the High Council of Justice this summer and were granted scores; one candidate (Paata Silagadze) had already been submitted to the Parliament and had been interviewed by the Legal Affairs Committee, but he failed to receive sufficient support to be elected to the Supreme Court. Among 48 candidates,1 the above 6 candidates ranked 14th, 19th, 21st, 27th, 30th and 32nd according to their scores. The High Council of Justice has not submitted to the Parliament the candidates ranked 13th, 17th, 18th, 25th, 28th, 29th or 31st either during the first stage, or now. The above indicates that despite rating the candidates' competence with scores, the amount of points granted have not been a determining factor in the selection of candidates. At the same time, given the anonymity of the rating process and the lack of substantiation, it is also difficult to say that the candidates with the highest scores are better candidates in terms of competence or conscientiousness”. Read more…  Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Media Advocacy Coalition calls on the Ministry of Finance to create equal tax conditions for broadcasters and make the process of paying off a budgetary debt transparent and fair. “Due to non-payment of a budgetary debt, the Revenue Service submitted a collection order to the accounts of TV Companies TV Pirveli, Rustavi 2, Kavkasia, as well as several regional channels. Georgian authorities have not used such an automatic sanction against major broadcasters for years”, - is noted in the statement released by the coalition. Read more… Source: https://www.qartia.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center releases a statement regarding the case of Temirlan Machalikashvili. “Two years have passed since the large-scale special operation was carried out by the State Security Service at the Machalikashvili family in the village of Duisi, however there are no results observed as a follow up of ongoing investigation in the case of cruel murder of Machalikashvili so far. After 2 years from starting investigation there is no single person prosecuted and parents of Temirlan Machalikashvili have not been granted the status of successor”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: https://emc.org.ge

Ajara. On 20 December 2019, the Constitutional Court of Georgia accepted the constitutional claim of the Public Defender of Georgia for consideration on its merits, relating to the constitutionality of the rule applied by the High Council of Justice for the selection of Supreme Court candidates to be submitted to the Parliament of Georgia. The constitutional lawsuit disputes the procedure of secret ballot for selecting Supreme Court candidates by the High Council of Justice, as it does not require substantiation of a candidate's eligibility. Read more…  Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Adjara. The Constitutional Court of Georgia has accepted a constitutional lawsuit of Zurab Girchi Japaridze to essentially review its part related to constitutionality of Article 266 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia. Positive response of the court to the lawsuit will allow to substantially revise the Code of Administrative Offenses adopted in 1984. The case is carried out by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association with the support of USAID / PROLoG. Read more… Source: https://gyla.ge