Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a study: One year of the de facto state of emergency in Georgia and human rights during the pandemic. According to the study, “The Parliament fails to perform an effective control of executive authorities during the pandemic. The curfew does not meet the principle of proportionality. There are questions as to how effective the curfew is in terms of persuading population to stay at home. More than 100 000 fines have been imposed for violation of COVID regulations. About 60 000 of them are unlawful. The amount of fines exceeds GEL 50 million. The process of introduction and enforcement of COVID regulations raises increased risks of violation of fundamental human rights”… Read more… Source:idfi.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) considers that the election of judge members of the High Council of Justice is an internal clan rotation. “Main challenge for the justice system today is clan governance and its alliance with the Government. Observation of this process over the years shows that it is mainly carried out in a non-competitive environment and, as a rule, results in electing leaders of an influential group of judges to the Council, most of whom hold or have held managerial positions for years. Elections are associated with renewal and new perspectives, however, in this case, expectations are groundless”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) prepared the Research - „Judicial System Reform in Georgia (2013-2021) “. “The purpose of the document is a systematic analysis of the judicial reform strategy and dynamics developed during the ruling of the Georgian Dream. The research assesses the significant reforms implemented in the Common Court System during 2013-2021, the dynamics of transformations and their impact on existing challenges. The document consists of three parts. The first assesses the general court administration system, the managing collegial bodies as well as the institutions within the court; The second discusses the career of a judge and their disciplinary issues; The third part concentrates on the analysis of the guarantees significant for the individual independence of the judges as well as the management of different courts”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) submitted alternative reports to the Parliament, in which the organization appraises individual and general measures taken by the state in order to enforce decisions and rulings made by the European Court of Human Rights against Georgia and, in addition, calls on the state to take specific steps. Alternative reports submitted by GYLA in 2021 touch upon cases of Tsintsabadze and Identoba Group. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

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