Tbilisi. Civil society organizations release a statement regarding changes to the electoral system presented by the ruling party.  “On December 20, during the fourth meeting on the electoral system conducted between the ruling and opposition parties, Chairman of Parliament voiced a proposal of the ruling party in regard to the change of the electoral system offering to split 150 parliamentary seats into 50 majoritarian and 100 proportional. “Georgian Dream” calls this proposal an “optimal compromised solution” after the failure of an initiative to move to a proportional representation system by 2020. In reality, with the proposal, voiced today, the ruling team advanced further and reiterated its desire to abolish transition to a fully proportional representation electoral system even for the 2024 elections”, - is noted in the statement.  Read more… Source: https://isfed.ge

Tbilisi. The organization “Partnership for Human Rights” presents a handbook – Justice and the rights of the child. The handbook has been developed within the framework of a project “Access to Justice for Children”, implemented with the support of the United Nations Children's Fund and within the framework of an EU funded project “Enhancing Access to Justice and Development of a Child-friendly Justice System in Georgia”. Read more… Source: https://phrgeorgia.wordpress.com

Tbilisi. The Human Rights Center demands timely and effective investigation of alleged crime committed by Chief of Police and other police officers of Lagodekhi. The Kakheti office of the Human Rights Center defends Tariel Sheitnishvili, who got detained by the police administratively on December 1 for resisting police. During the arrest police officers used physical force, as a result of which health condition of Tariel Sheitnichvili was seriously affected.  The Human Rights Center urges Investigative Department of the State Inspector’s Service to timely and effectively investigate the alleged fact of violence and humiliating treatment committed by the police. Read more… Source: http://www.humanrights.ge

Tbilisi. On 18 December 2019, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria met with State Inspector Londa Toloraia to get more information about the factual circumstances of the death of 15-year-old Luka Siradze. The Public Defender considers that the incident is a systemic problem and that the investigative agency violated the Juvenile Justice Code while questioning the teenager. According to her, a hostile and not favorable environment was created for the deceased and other children at the police station; therefore, children could not feel safe, which could be considered as pressure on them. Read more…  Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) releases a statement in regard to death of Luka Siradze.  “This tragic case once again reveals systemic challenges that exist at state agencies. Educational and law enforcement agencies have not managed to identify individual needs of adolescents and introduce supporting social and psychological assistance approaches that are tailored to those needs. This case highlights malfunction of education, justice and social support systems as well as weakness of coordination mechanisms among them and methods of mutual empowerment. Obviously, in these circumstances objectives of the “Juvenile Justice Code”, the main principle of which is protection of best interests of a child in the process of justice, remain unachieved. At the same time, the state pays insufficient attention to development of a suicide prevention strategy in general and it implementation”, - is noted in the statement.  Read more… Source: https://emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. On December 18, a study related to amendments made to the Criminal Code in 2009 was published. The event was organized by the Open Society Georgia Foundation and the Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary. The study reveals that criminal justice system of Georgia remains vague on a transformation phase. Such an important element of the Code of Procedure as a jury trial has not yet been fully enacted. Equality of parties while obtaining evidences is not guaranteed as the ability of defense to carry out a case independently and fully is still limited significantly. Read more… Source: https://osgf.ge

Tbilisi. A lawyer of GYLA was getting familiarized with materials of the case of Luka Siradze at the State Inspector’s Service until late yesterday and the organization is now demanding resignation of Minister of Internal Affairs and Deputy Minister Nino Tsatsiashvili. “For the time being, materials of the case show that there was exerted pressure on the juvenile by at least three more police officers, who have not been identified yet. Besides, it is confirmed that the teenager was left with just police officers without attendance of parents at the police station repeatedly within various periods of time. This includes the occasion when Deputy Head of the same station talked to the juvenile separately”, - is noted in the statement released by GYLA, - “It is noteworthy that at a special press conference held on December 15, Nino Tsatsiashvili, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs denied facts of separate interrogation of the juvenile and pressure exerted on him at the police station. Political responsibility for the crime committed at the police station lies with Minister of Internal Affairs and Deputy Minister Nino Tsatsiashvili. GYLA demands to dismiss them immediately”. Read more… Source: https://gyla.ge

Tbilisi. According to information of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, an investigator involved in interrogation of an injured juvenile appears also in a high-profile case of the so called Kintsvisi special operation. “The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association is engaged in the case of psychological oppression committed by police officers on a juvenile at the police station, which fact supposedly led the teenager to a suicide attempt. On December 16, 2019, in the morning program of the TV Company “Imedi”, explanations regarding the case of the juvenile were given by an investigator Mariana Choloyan who participated in the juvenile interrogation process on December 10 and 11, 2019. According to her, there was no violence against the juvenile. It is noteworthy that the investigator Marianna Choloyan appears also in a case of Nikoloz Goguadze, detained during the so called Kintsvisi special operation on May 26, 2011”, - is stated in the information released by the organization, - “GYLA calls on the State Inspector’s Service: while carrying out an investigation, to thoroughly examine/investigate content and authenticity of explanations given by Mariana Choloyan publicly, especially taking into account the fact that clarifications provided by this investigator in the so called Kintsvisi case and authenticity of compiled documents have not been verified”. Read more… Source: https://gyla.ge

Tbilisi. “Article 42 of the Constitution” responds to election of 14 judges to the Supreme Court by the Parliament. “The organization ”Article 42 of the Constitution” negatively appraises election of 14 judges to the Supreme Court by the Parliament of Georgia on December 12 of the current year and considers that this decision of the Parliament will not have a positive effect on independence of or public confidence in the judiciary”, - is noted in the statement released by the organization. Read more… Source: https://article42.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes a blog post: How the Supreme Court has been staffed - a brief overview. Most of the elected judges are promoters of interests of the clan existing in the judicial system, or have held a high-ranking position in the current government prior to their appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court and there are cases of violation of human rights or politically motivated decisions that are connected with their activitie.  We can say that most of them do not enjoy legitimacy of society”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Conference on Prevention and Monitoring of Femicide was held with the support of the Public Defender of Georgia and UN Women on 11 December 2019. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the systemic problem and the most extreme form of the killing of women. The main findings of the report show that it is still problematic for the court to assess a case as femicide or attempted femicide. Even when gender motives are identified, this is not reflected in aggravating circumstances of the punishment. Accordingly, it is important for the Prosecutor's Office to take appropriate measures to identify gender motives in the murders or attempted murders of woman. Read more… Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary evaluates the process of hearing candidates for judges of the Supreme Court at the Legal Issues Committee. “Legal reasoning ability of candidates, with rare exceptions, was low, while their responses - unjustified. Some candidates refused to answer questions asked by specific members of the Committee. Such an attitude is disrespectful not only to the Parliament as an institution but also to the process in general and deserves a negative appraisal”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. On December 4, The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) with the support of the European Union (EU) presented conducted the presentation of the analysis of legislation and practice of plea bargain. “Despite several reforms over the years, the practice of concluding plea bargains in Georgia is still very active and its use is well above the European average. Our research aims to identify gaps and challenges in plea bargaining and identify specific proposals to eliminate them.” – is mentioned in the blog post. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Public Defender Assesses Investigation into Ia Kerzaia’s Death.  ‘The Public Defender’s Office has completed the examination of investigative materials relating to the death of Ia Kerzaia and found the same systemic gaps in the case, which were characteristic of many other cases investigated by the Prosecutor's Office’, - is mentioned in the information of the Public Defender’s Office, - ‘Although the Prosecutor's Office interviewed all persons linked to the case after the launch of the investigation, it was not possible to obtain crucial evidence or establish the truth in the case due to the delayed launch of the investigation’.  Read more…  Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes a document containing appraisal of November 26 developments. The document provides an initial assessment of how legitimate and proportionate the police force used by the state was. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. “Beyond the Lost Eye” is the report prepared by GYLA regarding the events of June 20-21, which will be presented on November 27. “The report evaluates the legitimacy and proportionality of the decision to disperse the protest rally on 20-21 June 2019, the cases of inhuman treatment, excessive use of force against journalists and interference with journalistic activities. The report also analyzes the practice of imposing administrative detentions and judicial review of cases in connection with the events of June 20-21” is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. According to the statement of the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, the Prosecutor General's Office did not fully disclose materials of the criminal case to Mako Gomuri.  “We call on the Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia: to allow Mako Gomuri and her lawyers to get familiarized with materials of the criminal case in full; to meet its duties and responsibilities and conduct a complete and comprehensive investigation, taking especially into consideration the fact that more than five months have already been passed since Mako Gomuri was injured”.  Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. On November 18, 2019 the implementation of new training module “Development of mandatory professional skills of private enforcer” has launched. The first group of 25 state enforcers will be trained on practical issues of private enforcement. The purpose of establishment and implementation of training module is to prepare public enforcers for private work. Read more… Source: Social network

Tbilisi. Public Defender responds to trials of persons detained on 18 November 2019. “At this stage, according to the information available to us, some of the detainees were detained on November 18, during working hours. Consequently, the maximum term of their detention is 12 hours, according to the Georgian legislation. After this period expires, it is necessary to release them. We would also like to emphasize the fact that only one judge is considering the cases of administrative detention, which naturally complicates the administration of swift justice. It is necessary to involve additional judges in the process in order to prevent violation of the detainees' procedural rights. We urge Tbilisi City Court to comply with the requirements of the law and conduct trials timely and fairly”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. GYLA calls on state authorities to work promptly and actively to release Vazha Gaprindashvili, an unlawful detainee of the occupational regime of so called South Ossetia. “Reportedly, the purpose of arrival of Vazha Gaprindashvili at the so called administrative border was also to provide proper medical care to a resident of Akhalgori. In particular, the family of Vazha Gaprindashvili considers it as one of the versions that a Georgian doctor departed for occupied Akhalgori to assist a local resident who fell into a deep well and was refused to be transported to Tbilisi in order to receive qualified medical care”, - is noted in the statement released by the organization, - “GYLA calls on the government of Georgia to take all possible measures promptly and effectively in regard to release of Vazha Gaprindashvili from unlawful detention; use all available international legal instruments as much as possible to overcome the humanitarian crisis existing on the occupied territories and enable people living there to receive access to basic needs, including high quality medical care”. Besides, it also urges the international community and relevant international organizations to assist the Georgian side in resolving these problems; intensify efforts in order to combat massive violations of human rights in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region and to carry out monitoring activities of their missions on the occupied territories”. Read more… Source: https://gyla.ge/ge

Imereti. Since 2016, GYLA has been defending a person dismissed from a health and social protection service of the City Hall of Tskaltubo municipality. He was disputing his unlawful dismissal from work for political reasons. On October 25, 2019, the parties came to the agreement. According to terms of the agreement, the beneficiary of GYLA will receive GEL 20,000 as a labor compensation for the forcibly missed period.  Read more… Source: gyla.ge