Tbilisi. EMC responds to the rejection of allegations against Tamar Mearakishvili by Akhalgori regional court, which is under control of Tskhinvali de facto government.  “Regardless of the physical and economic isolation for 2 years, repression, restriction of freedom of movement and violation of other fundamental rights, Tamar managed for the second time to prove that the allegations were groundless. Obviously, there still exists an opportunity for the de facto prosecutor’s office to appeal the judgment in higher instances. It is yet unknown whether they will use this opportunity or not”, - mentions EMC, - “It is vital that Tskhinvali de facto authorities cease the practice of repressions and to fully restore her rights. Amongst, it's essential that Tamar gets back her Identity documents and her freedom of movement is restored”.  Read more… Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. “Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center” (EMC) publishes an analytical document – “For criticism of an adversarial criminal trial: Barriers while determining the truth”. “Two basic ways of resolving legal disputes are adversarial and inquisitorial trials. According to the general definition, the fundamental difference between them is who leads and controls a process. In the inquisitorial system, the court is directly involved in the case settlement issue, in particular, judges begin judicial procedures, collect evidences and determine how legal and factual circumstances, existing in the case, should be opened. Besides, they appoint witnesses and experts, question them and define the value of testimonies. In contrary, in the adversarial system, the course of proceedings is entirely entrusted to parties (their lawyers who interrogate witnesses), while a judge acts as a neutral “arbitrator”: S/he does not carry out an independent research, rather s/he evaluates evidences, presented to the court by parties, and settles the case taking into consideration existing facts and arguments”, - is stated in the document. Read more… Source:The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association will prepare a report in regard to developments of June 20-21. “On June 20-21, society once again witnessed dissolution of a large-scale protest rally using disproportionate police force.  Dispersal of the protest entailed an administrative arrest of 305 people, while a number of individuals were injured”, - is noted in the statement released by GYLA.  Read more… Source:The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics addresses the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a public statement. “The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics came to know that while reporting on 2 rallies, taking place on July 8 on Rustaveli Avenue, journalists experienced aggression coming from part of the demonstrators that were trying to prevent them from performing their professional activities. In response to this fact, law enforcers advised reporters to leave the area instead of protecting them. Besides, journalists say that they have to explain to representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs why hindering their professional performance is crime”, - is noted in the statement, - “We address you with the request to inform each law enforcer that journalistic activities are protected by Georgian legislation, reporters attend a demonstration not as its supporters, but to work and inform public. Therefore, law enforcers are obliged to ensure their safety. Protect journalists from aggressive actions of various people and let them freely cover current development”. Read more… Source:The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Public Defender Responds to Ongoing and Planned Demonstrations on Rustaveli Avenue.  “The Public Defender of Georgia is actively watching the events developing on Rustaveli Avenue. Opponents of Tbilisi Pride gathered in front of the Parliament building in the morning after organizers of Tbilisi Pride annulled their pride march. They demand abolition of the anti-discrimination law and prohibition of Tbilisi Pride. In addition, they say they will not let civil activists continue the anti-occupation protests”, - is mentioned in the statement, - “The Public Defender urges the participants of the ongoing and planned demonstrations in front of the Parlaiment to select certain individuals for holding constructive negotiations that will allow conduct of both demonstrations in a smooth and peaceful atmosphere. The Public Defender of Georgia urges the Ministry of Internal Affairs to protect the freedom of expression of civilians as much as possible and to ensure full realization of the right to assembly for everyone gathered on Rustaveli Avenue”.  Read more… Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. The “Open Society Georgia Foundation” announces about an alternative process of studying data related to candidates for judges of the Supreme Court of Georgia and calls on candidates to cooperate. “Taking into consideration establishment of an independent, impartial and transparent system of justice in Georgia, as well as the role and importance of the Supreme Court of Georgia within this system, there has been decided to carry out an alternative process of searching and managing information related to candidates for judges of the Supreme Court through the support of the Open Society Georgia Foundation. Within the framework of this process, there will be collected and reviewed publicly available information about 20 candidates, selected/nominated by the High Council of Justice, based on which there will be created a document (so called portfolio) on each candidate and submitted to the Parliament of Georgia”, - is noted in the statement released by the Foundation, - “Respectively, the Foundation calls on all candidates for judges of the Supreme Court to show high professional standard and provide any information that is necessary and required in order to evaluate conscientiousness and professionalism of a candidate”. Read more… Source:The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics has released a statement in regard to the address made by a TV presenter of “Rustavi 2” via live broadcast.  "Unethical statements addressed to the President of Russia by Giorgi Gabunia, a presenter of a TV program “Post Scriptum” at the TV Company “Rustavi 2”, while presenting the program today, on July 7, cause damage to both “Rustavi 2” and Georgian ethical media, promote reduction of trust and respect towards media and journalists, as well as spread of hate speech, hinders establishment and development of democratic principles in the country. It is particularly responsible and ethical media that serves as a main tool while fighting for retention of freedom of speech and expression”, - is noted in the statement.  Read more… Source:The website of the organization

Ajara. The Constitutional Court recognized unconstitutional a norm, which restricted temporary exposition of a protest banner on a private property with the consent of an owner. Information in this regard has been released by the “Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association”. “By its decision of July 4, 2019, the Constitutional Court has recognized unconstitutional the regulating content of a challenged norm, which deprives a property owner of the right to temporarily expose a banner on the front of his/her own house without the consent of the City Hall. The Constitutional Court has also considered unconstitutional punishment of a person, who temporarily exposes a protest banner on a temporary building with the consent of the owner of the building. The Constitutional Court has revealed a violation of freedom of expression in this case”, - is noted in the statement released by GYLA. Read more… Source: https://gyla.ge

Tbilisi. “Transparency International – Georgia” (TI) discovered violations in property declarations of a part of members of the Government and Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazeti in 2019. “”Transparency International - Georgia” studied more than 20 property declarations of officials. As a result, 5 facts of insufficient completion of declarations and 2 facts of failure to entrust other individuals with own shares were identified”, - is stated in the information released by TI. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. “Article 42 of the Constitution” reflects on the ongoing competition on the vacancies of judges of the Supreme Court of Georgia and believes that the secret deal among the members of the Council of Justice on the candidates of the members of the Supreme Court, including the gaps revealed during the competition, puts the legitimacy of the entire process under suspicion. Based on all the above mentioned, the “Article 42 of the Constitution” calls:  Parliaments of Georgia: - To initiate a review of the resolution on clan governance in court system, this was submitted to the Parliament on June 4, 2019. - In the shortest possible time, consider the issue of termination of the authority of the member of the High Council of Justice Zaza Kharebava. - To ensure the participation of the Coalition for Independent and Transparent Judiciary representatives in the working group of the Legal Issues Committee. The High Council of Justice of Georgia: - To consider and decide on the elimination issue of the member of the High Council of Justice- Tamar Oniani from the course of the competition. Read more…  Source: article42.ge

Tbilisi. According to the Gender Informational portal, for the first time a woman will be holding the position of President of the European Commission. “The European Commission will be headed by Ursula von der Leyen, a representative of Germany, who has been appointed as Minister of Defense of Germany since 2013, while the European Central Bank – by Christine Lagarde, former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund”, - is stated on the portal. Read more… Source: www.ginsc.net

Tbilisi. Europe Foundation responds to the Impact Assessment of Industrial, Technical Support, and Access to Finance Components for the ‘Produce in Georgia’ Program (2014-2018) published by LEPL Enterprise Georgia operating under the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. “In August 2018, Europe Foundation commissioned a Gendered Assessment of SME Development Strategy of Georgia 2016-2020, which was later shared with relevant stakeholders. The assessment concluded that strategy development was not preceded by a gender analysis. Since needs, challenges, and opportunities vary for men and women, a gender analysis is necessary. Without this, SME Development Strategy will not lead to interventions that improve economic outcomes for women and men in the SME sector”, - Is mentioned in the response.  Read more Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. On July 2, 2019 representatives of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), Centre for Training and Consultancy (CTC) and Management Systems Development Center (MSDC) presented the Evaluation of Municipalities in 2019, according to the Local Self-Government Index. Municipalities in top five spots were also awarded based on the transparency index. The initiative is financially supported by Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF). “The average rate of transparency and accountability of municipalities in Georgia still remains low – 28%, 25% for city halls and 31% for municipal councils”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. According to information released by Transparency International Georgia, numbers of both factions and initiatives of fractions decreased in city assemblies of Batumi, Keda, Kobuleti, Khelvachauri, Khulo and Shuakhevi municipalities of Adjara in 2017-2018 years in comparison with 2014-2016 years.  “The conducted study revealed that a legislative amendment passed at the end of 2017, as a result of which Deputy Chairperson of Faction became a paid position and which, as the parliamentary majority anticipated, would activate factions, did not entail positive results - on the contrary, the number of initiatives of factions decreased, which is an unequivocally negative tendency”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. On 2 July 2019, the Public Defender's Office started to study the criminal case (#074220619801) of alleged abuse of power by the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on 20-21 June 2019 (investigation of the June 20-21 developments). “The Public Defender's Office will evaluate the investigation process by taking into account the international standards of effective investigation. Independence, timeliness, accuracy and competence of investigation, as well as involvement of victims in the process, will be the evaluation criteria. The Public Defender's Office will particularly focus on whether: all necessary investigative/procedural actions were conducted; investigative/procedural actions were conducted in a timely manner; investigation is not unreasonably delayed; investigative actions were conducted fully and with due diligence”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Women’s fund in Georgia publishes a new study of We Research - “Environmental Justice and Women’s Rights in Georgia”.  “According to the new study, presented by Women's Fund in Georgia, the intersection of environmental and gender equality is a new fi eld for the key actors working on the environmental as well as on gender equality issues Its implementation is challenging for most of the parties concerned The lack of information, experience, and resources is considered as a signifi cant barrier for the key actors working on environmental issues to mainstream gender aspect in their ongoing activities Absence of specifi c action plans and/ or widespread gender neutral and gender stereotypical attitudes is also considered as challenging”, - In the study is mentioned, - “According to focus group participants, vulnerability caused due to the environmental changes is determined by the territorial attachment, economic status and social connections It is noteworthy that in comparison to men, having lower income and lower participation in the workforce make women more vulnerable to environmental changes However, the interviewees do not discuss economic vulnerability issues with specifi c reference to gender”. Read more  Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. “Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center” (EMC) publishes a viewpoint of Sopho Verdzeuli in regard to developments that took place on June 20. “When a gap (mistake, misconduct, offense) of systemic character occurs, it entails loss of legitimacy of not single employees, but an entire agency. It is logical that an issue of political responsibility arises when just legal responsibility of individuals, no matter how hard it is, is no longer sufficient for regaining legitimacy of the institution”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Public Defender Responds to Ongoing Process of Selection of Supreme Court Judges and make a statement.  "As the public is aware, the Public Defender of Georgia, together with international and local NGOs, independently observes the process of selection of Supreme Court judges”, - mentions the Public Defender, - “The first secret ballot in the High Council of Justice and observation of its results identified certain problems and shortcomings, which threaten the conduct of the process in accordance with high standards. The Public Defender would also like to respond to the refusal of the High Council of Justice to provide information about judicial candidates to Transparency International – Georgia. The Public Defender believes that the above-mentioned is a serious problem and damages the entire process”.  Read more Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. On June 27, the European Court of Human Rights made a decision on the case of GYLA proceedings: Nikoloz Goguadze versus Georgia.  “The court determined a violation of the article 3 of the European Convention (prohibition of torture) as the complainant became victims of ill-treatment from representatives of law enforcement bodies and at the same time, the state failed to provide an effective and timely investigation of this fact. According to this decision, the European Court found a violation of substantial part of the article 3 of the European Convention and explained that the objective evidence in the case confirmed that on May 26-27, 2011, the complainant had suffered a number of injuries in the face and body when he was under the control of the government which he had not got before being detained. At the same time, the state was unable to present a convincing argument about what caused these injuries. In contrast, the state presented a resolution of the prosecutor on the modification of the qualification by which the investigating authorities confirm, that there was sufficient evidence in the case about the fact of ill-treatment of complainant”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. On June 21, the Tbilisi City Court imposed a fine of GEL 1000 on a number of people detained in regard to developments of June 20-21, despite absence of respective evidences. “While taking its decision, the court referred only on explanations of policemen and protocols of offence and detention compiled by them. Therefore, GYLA will submit complaints to the Court of Appeals on behalf of 12 persons who have been ordered to pay the fine”, - is stated on the website of the organization in a social network. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The Tbilisi City Court declared those accused of group, premeditated murder of Vitali Safarov guilty. “Avtandil Kandelakishvili and Giorgi Sokhadze were sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment each. The term of imprisonment began in September 2018. 25-year-old Vitali Safarov was assassinated on September 30, 2018, on Dumas Street in the center of Tbilisi”, - is stated on the website of the Human Rights Center in a social network. Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) and Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC Georgia) presented findings of the study on the role of judges in the criminal justice system. The study was implemented within the framework of “Facilitating Implementation of Reforms in the Judiciary (FAIR)”, a project funded by the European Union. “The study aimed to identify the issues in regard to the role of judges that legal professionals (judges and lawyers) find important for ensuring fair, impartial and human rights oriented criminal justice system”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge