Tbilisi. Social Justice Center once again appeals the Constitutional Court to argue about constitutionality of the standard for obtaining evidences as a result of search.  “On June 28, 2021, the Parliament of Georgia adopted a norm that fails to ensure refinement of the system for obtaining evidences as a result of search and still contains risks of police taking arbitrary actions. According to the new rule, possession of an illegal item seized as a result of search based on operative information may be corroborated by any evidence other than testimonies of police officers participating in search. However, there is no necessity to obtain another evidence if it is objectively impossible. The law does not envisage any obligation for police officers to obtain neutral evidences”, - is noted in the statement released by the Center.  Read more…  Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI) presents a report on the monitoring of parliamentary hearings of candidates nominated by the High Council of Justice of Georgia for vacant positions of judges of the Supreme Court of Georgia.  As stated in the report, - “It is true that the present competition was conducted on the basis of improved procedures and rules compared to a similar process in 2019, however, there were revealed no fewer shortcomings related to the content in the process itself. The difference between appraisal prepared by members of the High Council of Justice and actual results demonstrated during committee hearings was conspicuous. Candidates, whose personal or professional, as well as communication skills, were highly valued by members of the Council, often lost their temper during committee hearings and behaved inappropriately for their high judicial status”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association appeals to the Constitutional Court and demands to recognize boundaries of majoritarian constituencies established for local self-government elections unconstitutional. “By its decision N1/3/547 of May 28, 2015, the Constitutional Court of Georgia considered unconstitutional those norms of the Electoral Code, which defined boundaries of constituencies for the parliamentary elections in a way that violated the principle of an equal weight of electoral votes of voters. According to the common practice of the Constitutional Court of Georgia, “the primary goal and basis for the exercise of the right to vote are to reflect the will of citizens in final results of elections”. Respectively, an important component of this right is the ability of voters to affect the outcome of elections. Following the disputed norms, loss of weight and influence of electoral vote deprives voters of the opportunity to exercise his/her active suffrage effectively. In contrary to this, voters, the weight of whose electoral vote is raised, obtain an increased chance to affect the results of elections. Such an electoral system grants citizens unequal opportunities as well as fails to ensure that elections are held in accordance with the Constitution and the will of voters is adequately reflected in the final results of elections, which contradicts the principle of democratic governance. The decision of the Constitutional Court was about the right to equality of votes in the parliamentary elections, however, international experience confirms that the same approach is relevant for local self-government elections as well”, - they state at GYLA. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) responds to the documentary material posted on the Internet space and sent it to the media on September 13. The material is allegedly created by the State Security Service via processing of information obtained as a result of covert surveillance among other means. “The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia should immediately inform society whether the spread materials are authentic or not. At the same time, the Parliament should apply authorities granted to it by the Constitution and law and intervene in the investigation of circumstances related to the spread materials, especially in the light of alleged signs of systemic unlawful surveillance”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On July 1, 2021, the bill initiated by the members of the Parliament of Georgia was registered. The bill aims to enforce the Judgement of the Constitutional Court of Georgia N1/4/693,857 of June 7, 2019. Notably, the Parliament was obligated to enforce the decision till May 1, 2020.  ‘The judgment of the Constitutional Court has established extremely important constitutional standards for the transparency of the judiciary, although it has not yet been implemented by the Parliament. The implementation of these standards is the direct constitutional obligation of the parliament. In addition, it is part of the so-called Charles Michel Agreement. It should be noted that the registration of the bill was preceded by the workshop of June 16, 2021, organized by IDFI in Borjomi, which was attended by the Legal Issues Committee of the Parliament’, - It is written in the information spread by IDFI.  Read more…   Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. The Georgian Democracy Initiative responds to materials about personal life broadcasted on the air of various channels. “Information about facts of alleged unlawful covert surveillance and eavesdropping, performed by the State Security Service against clergy, journalists, teachers and representatives of diplomatic corps, and broadcasted on the air of various TV Companies, has further strengthened existing public suspicions about the presence of a heavy practice of unlawful interference in the sphere of personal life in the country. Publicized information indicates that no group, circle of people, the individual is protected from the control and surveillance of the State Security Service in the country”, - is noted in the statement released by the organization. Read more…  Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center responds to alleged facts exposing unlawful work of the State Security Service and considers that the publicized material demonstrates the hardest practice of unlawful, regular, and total wiretapping and surveillance of people. “In our opinion, this fact is a rough encroachment on the inviolability of private life and undermines opportunities of the country for its democratic development”, - is noted in the statement released by the organization, - “Social Justice Center calls on the Parliament of Georgia to establish a commission, which will investigate alleged facts of mass illegal wiretapping and gross violations of human rights committed by the State Security Service; initiate discussions regarding the fundamental reform of the State Security Service, deconcentration of its excess authority and increase of accountability mechanisms; while on the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia to launch a timely, effective and independent investigation into current facts as soon as possible and inform society about the progress and results of the investigation”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The European Court of Human Rights accepted one more lawsuit submitted by the Human Rights Center, which is related to June 20-21, 2019 developments. The case named Berikashvili vs Georgia has already been registered by the court. A citizen affected at the demonstration raided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs demands acknowledgment of violation of Articles 3, 10, 11, and 13 of the European Convention. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Georgian Democracy Initiative considers that the Tbilisi City Court found an activist Giga Makarashvili as an offender without any evidence and fined him GEL 2000. “Common courts continue to persecute, prosecute and strictly punish peaceful civil activists. In particular, on September 10, 2021, Lela Tsagareishvili, a judge of the Tbilisi City Court, found Giga Makarashvili as an administrative offender for disobeying police demand and imposed GEL 2000 fine to be paid by him”, - is noted in the statement, - “Giga Makarashvili did not resist policemen either before or after his detention and this fact was confirmed also through the video material presented by representatives of MIA themselves at the trial. It becomes obvious from videos taken by cameramen of various TV stations that Giga Makarashvili stands peacefully while police officers detain him without any warning or call”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. GYLA presented №15 criminal trial monitoring report. This is the first annual report that assesses the impact of restrictions introduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic on pending court trials in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Rustavi City Courts, and Zugdidi and Telavi District Courts.  The report discusses the trends identified as a result of monitoring court hearings held without courtroom attendees and analyzes the pros and cons of remote litigation. The compliance of the decisions of parties and court rulings with the law is assessed as well as the challenges the court, parties, and penitentiary institutions were exposed to due to the Covid-19 pandemic are analyzed. The pandemic-induced changes in the criminal court proceedings and their consequences are also evaluated.  The report analyzes the impact of the decisions made at different stages of the pandemic on the litigation process and provides the necessary recommendations for improving the current situation. The report presents the results of the criminal court monitoring conducted from March 2020 through March 2021, as well as the key trends identified at different stages of the monitoring.  Read more…   Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. GDI releases a statement in response to the September 7, 2021 decision of the Chamber of Criminal Cases under the Supreme Court of Georgia. With this decision, the Chamber reversed the verdict imposed by courts of first and second instance and sentenced Davit Kezerashvili, the owner of the TV Company “Formula” and former Minister of Defense, to 5 years in prison. “It should be noted that the Cassation Chamber, reviewing the case, was chaired by Shalva Tadumadze, who held the position of Prosecutor General during both the second instance hearing of the case and the prosecution appeal of the case to the Court of Cassation. The Public Defender responded to the mentioned fact and pointed out the possible conflicts of interest. As she stated, “I am not familiar with this case, however, if Tadumadze served as Prosecutor when Kezerashvili was charged and such a fact is revealed, I assume it is a conflict of interests. I noted it in the case of Ugulava too, so if such circumstances emerge also in this case, then there is a high probability that the Strasbourg court will find a violation of the right to a fair trial, provided that this case goes there””, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Public Defender says the work of the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Monitoring Department of the Special Penitentiary Service continues with significant shortcomings.  ‘The analysis of the cases showed that the Monitoring Department of the Special Penitentiary Service and the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs had not conducted an in-depth examination of alleged human rights violations, which prevented the investigation and detection of violations indicated by the applicants. The general inspectorates of the investigative agencies do not fully study citizens' complaints, do not obtain neutral evidence to identify alleged infringements, and in most cases are limited to questioning alleged infringers who clearly deny the violation of law’, - mentioned the Public Defender.  Read more…   Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Public Defender Demands Criminal Prosecution of Two Persons for Organizing Group Violence and Calling for Violence on July 5. ‘Two months have passed since the violent events of July 5, but the Georgian Prosecutor's Office has not launched criminal prosecution against any individual for organizing group violence. The Public Defender examined the video footage released by the media and considers that the publicly available evidence reaches the standard of probable cause for launching criminal proceedings against two persons for organizing group violence as well as for publicly calling for violence’, is mentioned in the statement of the Public Defender. Read more…  Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. According to information released by Social Justice Center, along with numerous questions floating around the Namakhvani HPP project, the state keeps closing project related documentation unlawfully, which fact further deepens suspicions about illegality of the project and its incompatibility with state interests. The organization applies to court contesting refusal of state agencies to provide public information. “This time, we demand to receive information from Ministries of Finance, Economy and Justice. Court hearing against Ministries of Justice and Economy has been scheduled for September 27 of the current year. Our organization has already applied to these institutions directly requesting relevant information, however, despite the fact that the deadline for provision of public information is expired, we have not received that information yet”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center expresses its concern about the fact that even one month later, the ongoing investigation into the mass, collective violence, organized by extremist groups on July 5-6 in streets of Tbilisi, remains ineffective. “So far, investigative bodies have not only failed to perform complete identification of people committing the violence, but they have not defined the responsibility of organizers of mass violence either, besides, the investigation into organization of violence is also passive and weak”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Tbilisi office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation publishes an analytical article of Guram Imnadze in regard to the judicial system. “In the multi-year process of reforms, the court has rarely been perceived as a source of justice, a determiner of the content of justice and a guarantor of trust in the law. As a rule, the political dimension of court and the fact that we deal with an independent branch of government are neglected. Instead, the court is perceived as a body of technical administration of justice, while a judge is presented not as an interpreter of the law, but as a literal reading of it”. Read more… Source: ge.boell.org

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center introduces a document, which represents a methodological framework for examining all the structural factors that prevent people from accessing justice institutions. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. TDI releases the report: The Legal Status of Migrants in Georgia - Amid and beyond the Covid pandemic. See full report in English… The report covers the period of January 2020 - May 2021. Main topics of the report: Migrants’ Rights and Challenges amid the Covid-19 Pandemic; Issues, legislation, and practice of obtaining a residence permit; State policy towards asylum seekers in Georgia; Problems of the State Security Service’s Competence to Investigate Crimes of Racial Discrimination; Statistics on the refusal of a state residence permit; Statistics on crimes committed with racial intolerance;  Read more… Source: tdi.ge

Tbilisi. Are you a foreigner and need legal assistance in expulsion and non-refoulement procedures? Download brochure and get to know the available legal services… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. According to a statement, made by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, at the Supreme Court, judges have been appointed as a result of a deal between the clan and the Government. “Regardless questions related to competence and conscientiousness of candidates, the Legal Affairs Committee recommended to hire some of the participants of the competition. On its part, the plenary session acknowledged recommendations completely and appointed 6 judges to the position. It should also be noted that among candidates, appointed to the position, were individuals loyal to the influential group of judges – the clan and their leaders. The decision was not based on a broad consensus among parties, which fact is going to have a negative impact on confidence in court in the future”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. With USAID/PROLoG support a survey on implementation of the new Law Benchmark document in the accreditation process of academic programs was solicited. „The survey identified challenges in different directions, including uniform application of the Law Benchmark document and composition of the accreditation board“. Survey…                                                            Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to information released by International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), a version of overdose death of Lashkarava was posted on the Facebook page of “Marshalpress” about an hour earlier than the Ministry drew our attention to this information at its first briefing. “There was mentioned Ioseb Khimshiashvili, some politician, in the material as a source of it. Soon the online edition disseminated the news via open groups in an organized manner. Otar Stepanishvili, the founder of “Marshalpress”, was among those who shared the post”.                                                              Source: The website of the organization on a social network