Tbilisi. The Coalition for an ''independent and transparent judiciary'' responds to the developments regarding the Constitutional Court of Georgia. ''We would like to emphasize that in parallel to inquiry, judges should participate in proceedings and continuity of constitutional justice should not be threatened. Besides, the authorities should refrain from politicizing process further'' - is noted in the statement. In full... Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. On September 6, 2016, the Public Defender of Georgia submitted amicus curiae brief to the Administrative Cases Panel of Tbilisi City Court concerning alleged discrimination on grounds of age. ''In the amicus curiae brief the Public Defender presented a test for revelation of alleged discrimination in pre-contractual labor relations, the rule of distribution of the burden of proof in discrimination cases, the practice of international institutions concerning age-based discriminatory treatment and difference between the cases where such treatment is, on the one hand, justified, and on other hand, is discriminatory. The Public Defender also presented standards of application of positive measures,'' is noted in the statement. In full… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association appraises investigation of an incident that took place between a court chairman and a head of one of the non-governmental organizations. ''Doubtless to say that if there is any violation of law against a judge, it should be responded respectively as stipulated by law. However, both the investigation and the trial, carried out by court, should be conducted in a way that there are no questions whether the committed action has been appraised adequately or not ...'' – is noted in the statement of the organization. In full… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes a blogpost of Giorgi Chubinidze: ''Against innocence''. ''…Fight for Demur Sturua and all other oppressed people, on the one hand, is a struggle against structures, while on the other hand, this fight is endless because justice, according to the definition in a present tense, does not exist. Thus, as one poet would say, innocence should resign'' – is stated in the blogpost. In full... Source:emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. ''Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC)'' made a presentation of a study, which examines the state of adherence to political neutrality in the police system. ''The study covers: 1) HR policy, existing in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and regulations related to it, 2) police practice and problematic police tools, detected in specific cases, 3) critical analysis of public speeches of heads of the ministry'' – is stated on the website of the organization in a social network. In full... Source:The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association defended interests of members of ''guerrilla gardening''. They complained at court about the fact of restriction of the right to peaceful assembly and demanded to be given an opportunity of locating a tent on the place of their choice in the square, in front of the Tbilisi City Hall. The court fully satisfied claims of the plaintiffs. In full... Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. "Transparency International – Georgia” will lodge an application against Russia in Strasbourg to protect the rights of 11 citizens. "With the application we prove that since 2008, as a result of a creeping occupation performed by the occupational forces of Russia, the property rights of citizens of Georgia have been violated" – is noted in the statement of the organization. In full… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The court of appeals partially satisfied a lawsuit of a citizen M. Ch., whose interests in court were defended by ''Fair Elections'' (ISFED). ''The project ''Protecting Rights of Civil Servants for Politically Neutral and Discrimination - Free Public Service in Georgia'' considers provision of free of charge legal aid to individuals working in public service and affected by contests and certification, as well as by illegal dismissal. The project considers also preparation of paperwork and representation in court'' – is stated on the website of the organization. In full... Source:www.isfed.ge

Tbilisi. In accordance with the Public Defender's proposal of July 11, 2016, the Chief Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into the fact of threatening on grounds of refused partnership. ''Despite the fact that the Georgian legislation does not acknowledge illegal tracking or surveillance, or the definition of a gender-motivated violence against women, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office reacted to the Public Defender's proposal in a short period of time. On July 21, 2016, citizen J.Kh. was arrested and charged; later, Tbilisi City Court ordered him to pay bail,'' is noted in the statement. In full… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition responds to the revision of the list of candidates for election of a judge at the Strasbourg Court, performed by the Government. ''We consider that the mentioned fact does not correspond to the requirements of the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe regarding "nomination and selection of judges”, according to which politicization of processes must be avoided while selecting candidates for a judge. In addition, selected candidates, besides their professional qualification, should also possess high moral qualities'' – is stated on the website of the organization. In full… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. On July 26, 2016, the Public Defender of Georgia was notified of forced transfer of L.O. to drug testing. ''We welcome the fact that in about an hour from the visit of the Public Defender's representative, police released the detainee. However, despite the results achieved, the mentioned fact proves that the so-called "street drug testing" is still a serious daily problem in Georgia, which violates the inviolability of citizens’ freedom, as well as the constitutional rights to privacy, human dignity and fair trial. Despite the Public Defender's repeated calls to eradicate similar facts, police still continues the vicious practice,'' is noted in the statement. In full… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Georgian Women's Movement addresses an open letter to the Minister of Internal Affairs. ''Despite the fact that the criminal policy related to violence against women has improved during the last two years, the essential solution of the problem is still impossible due to systemic defaults existing at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Therefore, it is necessary to continue reforms. We consider that the Ministry of Internal Affairs should immediately start working towards the following direction ...'' - is stated in the letter. Georgian Women's Movement requests a meeting with the Minister. In full… Source:The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes an article of Goga Tushurashvili: ''Expenses of the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia (2011-2015)''. ''Since 2012 increase of the number of employees of the Prosecutor's Office, in turn, has caused growth of funds, allocated for labor remuneration. However, the rate of growth of expenses incurred for remuneration of labor at the Prosecutor's Office considerably exceeds the rate of growth of the number of employed'' – is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On July 21, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association made a presentation of the study – ''Rights of a victim in criminal proceedings'' (legislation existing in Georgia, practice and international approaches). ''The purpose of the study is to review the rights situation of a victim in criminal proceedings, to analyze gaps and challenges based on specific examples and statistics'' - is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. On July 17, the world marks the Day of International Justice. ''We believe that the creation of the international system of justice in the form of the International Criminal Court – whose foundations were laid on July 17, 1998, with the adoption of the Rome Statute – is one of the most important achievements of the international community. Perpetrators of international crimes – genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity – must not remain unpunished regardless of their official status, and it is possible to achieve this goal through the International Criminal Court. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association expresses solidarity with victims of these extremely grave crimes. They also include hundreds of individuals who suffered at the time of the August War between Russia and Georgia in 2008. We welcome the fact that this year the Hague Tribunal authorized its Prosecutor to investigate the crimes committed during the August War. We express hope that this investigation will make it possible to establish the truth, to identify the perpetrators and to bring them to trial, and to restore the victims’ rights,'' is noted in the statement. In full… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary responds to the sitting regarding selection of judges in the Council. ''A number of defaults, revealed during the process of the current competition, put a question mark over proper conducting of an entire process of selection of judges and, thus, affect the acknowledgement of the competition results. This, in turn, causes even more disappointment with the judicial system in the public eye'' – is noted in the statement. In full… Source: www.coalition.org.ge

Tbilisi. On July 11, a presentation of the study on "the Judicial System in Georgia: Views of Legal Professionals”, carried out by the CRRC – Georgia, was held at the Frontline Club. "The study has been conducted in the framework of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) program - "Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia" (PROLoG), which is implemented by the East-West Management Institute" – is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full… Source: The web-page of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. On July 5th, 2016 one-day advanced training was held for the lawyers of the Legal Aid Service on ''the practical aspects of implementation of the Refugee Legislation''. The Training was organized by the United Nations Association of Georgia (UNAG) with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). ''The aim of the training was to deepen knowledge of the lawyers of the Legal Aid Service on asylum issues, as well as to share experiences on existing practical challenges'', is noted in the statement. In full… Source: Social page

Tbilisi. Non-governmental organizations appeal to a court against construction of ''Panorama Tbilisi'' in a landscape zone. ''In the opinion of several local and foreign specialists, implementation of "Panorama Tbilisi" completely destroys the historical landscape of Tbilisi City, which is the most important part of a cultural and ecological environment of the city, respectively, mentioned project is in contradiction with the constitutionally guaranteed right of the use of natural and cultural surroundings. The arguments of the claim are based on a legal research, carried out by the organization ''Initiative for a Public Space'''' – is stated on the web-page of the Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center. In full... Source:emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary responds to the contest, carried out for filling 65 vacant positions of judges at the High Council of Justice. At this stage interviews with all candidates are completed. ''According to the appraisal of the Coalition, mentioned interviews have once again revealed deficiency and systemic problems of a current system of selection-appointment of judges, which exist in this field both on a legislative level and in practice. Besides, the Coalition evaluates negatively the fact that the High Council of Justice has not waited for the decisions of two of the most important constitutional bodies - the Parliament of Georgia and the Constitutional Court regarding the rule of selection-appointment of judges and within tightened timeframes, without proper adherence to the defined procedure has carried out the contest'' – is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full… Source: phr.ge

Tbilisi. UNICEF welcomes the ratification of the third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure by the Parliament of Georgia, which will allow individual children to submit complaints regarding specific violations of their rights. In full… Source: unicef.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International – Georgia publishes a blogpost: ''Paid advertisement of the Ministry of Justice on the social network Facebook''. ''It is unacceptable to advertise in a social media such posts of the Ministry, which aim at putting forward unsubstantiated accusations regarding the Constitutional Court and at discrediting this institution. ... It is unfortunate that state financial resources are spent for such illegitimate purposes'' – is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full… Source:www.transparency.ge