Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia calls on the Parliament of Georgia to expeditiously adopt the updated rules for the selection of members of the High Council of Justice, which will ensure greater transparency and trust in the justice system and reduce the spheres of influence on the judiciary. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Signatory organizations call on judges of common courts of Georgia not to hold the XXIX Extraordinary Conference on May 26, at which it is planned to elect 4 judge members of the High Council of Justice of Georgia. “Despite the fact that 9 (4 judges and 5 non-judges) out of 15 members of the Council will have to be re-elected during the 2021 spring session, the Parliament of Georgia has not yet started to work on changing the rule of staffing the Council. In view of this, holding an extraordinary conference and election of judge members of the Council in accordance with the current legislation contradicts the spirit of the April 19 agreement and destroys possibility to make sure judge members of the Council are selected through a fair process, while selected candidates have high public and professional confidence and legitimacy". Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center publishes a video about violations related to the Namakhvani construction. “Environmental and construction permits for the cascade of Namakhvani hydropower plants were issued under specific conditions without mandatory examinations and thorough study, as stipulated by law. More than a year has passed since permits were issued, however, the company has not completely submitted additional inspections to the state yet. With works carried out on the site, Enka violates conditions of both environmental and construction permits”. Read more… Source:socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary calls on the Parliament of Georgia to start working on a reform of the justice system promptly. And ensure that the High Council of Justice is made up of qualified and reliable members. “As it is known to public, one of the key issues of the agreement signed between the Government and the opposition on April 19 is an ambitious reform of the judiciary. Conscientious implementation of terms of this agreement is important for stability of political processes in the country and reduction of severe effects of the current multi-layered crisis. At the same time, work on each clause of the agreement should be carried out with high public involvement and mutual respect of political actors, which goes along also with the spirit of the April 19 agreement”, - is noted in the joint statement. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center (formerly EMC) critically appraises the bill on Amnesty that is drafted by the “Georgian Dream” about June 19-21 developments. The bill provides a blanket exemption from criminal liability for a wide range of crimes related to June 19-21 developments, as well as excludes victims from the process completely.  In the opinion of the organization: “The bill on Amnesty should be based on a broad public and political consensus;  The amnesty should be clear and precise in its content and more emphasis, in the process, should be placed on the involvement of victims and their interests; In order to reduce polarization in the country and shift political processes to a constructive, institutional mode, the government must show real political will for fundamental electoral and judicial reforms, as well as for distribution of political power”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. On April 22, 2021, the European Court satisfied a complaint of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) in the case of “Kalandia v. Georgia” and found a violation of Article 6 (1) (the right to a fair trial) of the European Convention. “The case of Kalandia is one of the cases within current legal proceedings of GYLA, which deal with persecution of people on the ground of political motivation, and, in its essence, is similar to the two cases won by GYLA in the European Court – “Tlashadze and Kakashvili v. Georgia” and “Megrelishvili v. Georgia”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) negatively responds to draft changes to be made in the Code of Administrative Offenses and calls on the Parliament not to support planned amendments. “On April 26, at the Parliament of Georgia, there were registered two bills that are supposed to be reviewed in an expedited manner. One of them concerns changes to be made in Articles 166 (petty hooliganism) and 173 (disobedience to a lawful demand of police) of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia. According to the bill, sanctions, envisaged by both Articles, are significantly tightened, besides, the role of the judge is reduced - taking into account factual circumstances of a case, determine the size of a sanction or use a verbal warning”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) made a presentation of the report on “Analysis of Election Disputes”. “The purpose of the report is to identify main trends and legislative gaps that hinder the fair resolution of election disputes and create distrust in electoral processes. In the document, GYLA evaluates election disputes, related to the 2020 parliamentary elections, as during the pre-election period as well as on the polling day and afterwards. The report contains main shortcomings identified in the process of revision of election disputes. Besides, it includes an analysis of a problematic practice reflected in decisions made by election administrations and courts”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Samegrelo. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) protected a juvenile who was sexually harassed in a public place. “Zugdidi District Court confirmed the fact of sexual harassment committed against a juvenile and fined the responsible person GEL 600. The person, subject to the administrative liability, applied to the Kutaisi Court of Appeals contesting the court decision, however, the Court of Appeals also shared the factual and legal reasoning, provided in the first-instance court decision, and left the decision unchanged. GYLA carried out this case with the support of USAID/PROLoG”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. According to information released by “Rights Georgia”, almost four years after the start of the investigation, a petition submitted by Archil Chopikashvili, a lawyer of the organization, has been satisfied and Afghan Mukhtarli, an Azerbaijani journalist, who was abducted by unidentified people in May 2017 in Tbilisi and handed over to the Government of Azerbaijan, has been granted the status of victim. Besides, the qualification of the case has been specified. Read more… Source: www.rights.ge

Tbilisi. On April 21, the Public Defender presented a special report – “Impact of closure of so-called checkpoints in 2019-2020 years on legal situation of population living in the occupied territories”. “According to the opinion of the Ombudsman, formal regime, imposed by the de facto Government to regulate movement on the occupation line, as well as establishment of various barriers, such as unpredictable closures of so-called checkpoints, unlawful detentions, problems related to de facto documentation required for relocation and etc., restrict freedom of movement of residents of the occupied regions and create unjustified obstacles to them in terms of access to livelihoods. It is important to have the Government of Georgia use support, provided by the international community, and apply all possible mechanisms to protect rights of people living in the occupied territories. This includes negotiations with representatives of the occupation regime so as to convince them to let international missions access conflict regions”. Read more... Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On June 19, GYLA called on parties, involved in the mediation process, to sign a compromise proposal presented by the President of the European Council, however, the organization made it clear that the agreement should be implemented in accordance with the Constitution of Georgia and international standards. The organization urges political parties to “prevent initiation of a bill that aims to extend the amnesty to crimes committed by law enforcers on June 20-21, 2019 (regardless of what the qualification of the investigation is). Otherwise, not only the issue of individual criminal responsibility of an offender is going to be endangered, but also public trust in and respect for the law enforcement system, as well as fulfillment of the state obligation to combat the sense of impunity that an offender may have due to his official position. As a result, among other benefits, the right to freedom of assembly or expression will also be significantly harmed”. Read more… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Partnership for Human Rights (PHR) calls for protection of rights of children at the Ninotsminda boarding school through court. “Instruct the Ministry of Health and the Ninotsminda shelter for children to not restrict the Public Defender from entering there and carrying out thorough monitoring; The Ministry of Health to visit the shelter immediately and study the situation existing there”. With these demands, the organization, as a holder of a special plaintiff status, has already appealed to the Tbilisi City Court in order to protect rights of children living in large institutions. Read more… Source: phr.ge

Tbilisi. ”Social Justice Center”, “Rights Georgia” and “Women’s Initiatives Support Group” respond to the fact of obstruction of activities of trustees of the Public Defender of Georgia by the administration of a Javakheti Ninotsminda Saint Nino boarding school, N(N)LE of the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church for orphan and homeless children, as well as those deprived of parental care. “We, the signatory organizations, call on the state to take all measures for unwavering protection of rights of children in religious boarding schools and bringing these institutions under real and effective monitoring of the state”. Read more… Source: rights.ge

Tbilisi. Georgian Democracy Initiative provides an overview of proposals related to rule of law and judicial reform included in the agreement document presented by President of the European Council. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Women’s Movement expresses unconditional solidarity with Ninutsa Makashvili. We hope that the state of Georgia and society will be united in fight against violence, while each attempt of its justification will be strongly condemned. “A few days ago, on the air of Rustavi 2, Ninutsa Makashvili, an actress, spoke about her painful personal experience, according to which years ago she became a victim of systematic domestic violence committed by Beso Zanguri, an actor, her then-husband. In our country, where domestic violence is unfortunately a frequent occurrence, while society is still insufficiently intolerant of this type of crime, victims need to mobilize great strength and courage in order to talk about their experiences openly and publicly. In this reality, even more appreciated and exemplary is the decision of Ninutsa Makashvili to speak loudly about the violence committed by Beso Zanguri, her ex-husband, an actor of Rustaveli National Theater. We believe that her courage will be contagious and become a motivation for many women. It is unacceptable for us that Beso Zanguri, a person exposed in a dangerous crime of domestic violence, who has neither been held responsible for nor expressed any regrets, stands on the stage of Rustaveli National Theater and continues his career as if nothing has happened. Therefore, we demand to have Beso Zanguri quit his professional activities in the theater until the investigation in the case is completed...” Read more... Source: The website of the Movement on a social network

Tbilisi. Group of Independent Lawyers, Rights Georgia and Social Justice Center address To Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.  “On April 1, the Parliament of Georgia adopted amendments to the Law on Common Courts, which also provide for changes in the procedure for the selection of judges of the Supreme Court by the High Council of Justice. Despite the fact that this legislative act is improving the standards of transparency and reasoning of HCOJ decisions, we believe that these procedural amendments cannot change the situation in the judiciary”, - is read in the address.  Read more…   Source: socialjustice.org

Imereti. The Kutaisi Court of Appeals announced its decision on the case of construction of a new mosque in Batumi and left the verdict of the Batumi City Court unchanged. The Court of Appeals agreed with the argument of the Batumi City Court regarding unlawfulness of a refusal of the Batumi City Hall to issue the first stage permit for construction of a new mosque in Batumi and discriminatory treatment of plaintiffs on religious grounds. Interests of a foundation to support construction of a new mosque in Batumi are defended in court by the Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI) and Social Justice Center (formerly EMC). Read more… Source: tdi.ge

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center (formerly EMC) appraises the final position of the Government of Georgia in regard to the case of deprivation of life of Temirlan Machalikashvili presented to the European Court of Human Rights and points out that even at the International Court the Government continues to try to discredit the victim and his family and refers to clearly unsubstantiated and fabricated information. “Social Justice Center once again reiterates that justification of accusations against Temirlan Machalikashvili is not a subject of the dispute in the Strasbourg court and this reasoning goes beyond the scope of the application of the Machalikashvili family. That is why we consider that it was fundamentally inappropriate for the Government to present extensive arguments on this issue and form the defense strategy mostly by attempts to discredit Temirlan Machalikashvili”, - is stated in information released by the Center. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association presented a report to the public – “Results of a four-year monitoring of criminal trials”. The report serves to identify practical and legislative shortcomings, including positive trends, as a result of attendance of criminal trials and analysis of identified cases. There are reviewed in the report issues related to criminal proceedings carried out within the period from March 2016 through February 2020, as well as key trends from the beginning of monitoring to the present. Main findings of the report touch upon - preventive measures, implementation of proper judicial control over investigative actions and a plea agreement, shortcomings existing at various stages of a process. The report pays special attention to crimes preconditioned by family, drugs, and social backgrounds. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Signatory organizations respond to developments that occurred yesterday in the Rioni valley and consider it inadmissible to resume construction works of Namakhvani HPP on the background of mobilization of police forces, grossly violating human rights and disregarding demands of the population. “Instead of the state assuming the role of a moderator, focused on the protection of sustainable public interests and goodness, which is based on constitutional principles of a social and legal state, the government office today is entirely on the side of private interest. During the last months, we observed maximum mobilization of police, information, and administrative resources by the Government aiming to neglect and discredit opponents of the construction of Namakhvani HPP. However, today, breaching fundamental rights and applying repressive tools aggressively, the Government refuses to resolve the existing crisis with community groups through democratic dialogue and legal means“, - is noted in the joint statement. Read more… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Media Advocacy Coalition member organizations consider it inadmissible to restrict access to the Internet in Namokhvani. “We would like to remind the government that access to the Internet and the right to free usage of the Internet is protected by the Constitution of Georgia. While on the background of high public interest in the ongoing protest rally in Namokhvani, it is unacceptable to restrict the constitutionally guaranteed right unjustifiably. According to the spread information, “the Ministry of Internal Affairs has jammed also the Internet connection in Namokhvani today, due to which fact it is impossible to stream live”.  As the local population state, such a failure of Internet transmission has not been observed in Namokhvani before.  We call on the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia to: Make a statement in regard to the fact of unlawful restriction of freedom of expression;  Take immediate measures to ensure access to the Internet so as to enable people in Namokhvani to exercise the right to receive and transmit information, while journalists have adequate working conditions for their professional activities. We urge the Communications Commission to investigate the Internet disruption in Namokhvani and provide us with information regarding currently existing indicators”, - is noted in the statement of the coalition. Read more…  Source: The website of the Coalition on a social network