SEPTEMBER, 2015
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DEVELOPMENTS SURROUNDING
THE JUDGMENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ON THE CASE
OF GIORGI UGULAVA
SHUTTERSTOCK
Judge merab turava’s failure to show up and refusal
to sign the judgment
On September 15, 2015, the Constitutional Court of Georgia passed a
judgment on the case of Citizen of
Georgia Giorgi Ugulava v. Parliament
of Georgia, by which it found unconstitutional the normative content
of Part 2, Article 205 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure of Georgia which
allowed continued imprisonment of
a defendant in a concrete criminal
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
case if they had spent
a total of nine months
under imprisonment
after being indicted in
this case or sufficient
grounds for their indictment had been
revealed in any case
being
prosecuted
against them.
It should be noted that
the announcement of
the judgment was postponed, and
it was announced on September
16, 2015, instead of September 15,
2015. According to the statement of
the Constitutional Court, the postponement of the announcement of
the judgment was caused by health
condition of one of the judges, Merab Turava. On September 16, 2015,
members of the Constitutional Court
TO BE CONTINUED >>
THE CASE OF
SO-CALLED
“NARUSHILOVKA”
The programs of Rustavi 2 TV station – P.S. and Archevani – have
publicized videos that a former
senior lieutenant of the police,
Giorgi Babunashvili, handed to
the Timer news agency and the
Kronika+ newspaper. [page.3] >>
CASES OF ALLEGED
EXCEEDING OF
POWERS BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT
OFFICERS
On September 10, 2015, family
members and relatives of Roman
Kekiashvili who gathered in front
of the police station in Kobuleti
protested his detention and declared that law enforcers had
planted a narcotic substance on
him. [page.5] >>
XENOPHOBIC
EXPRESSIONS OF
POLITICIANS
NGO Media Development Foundation (MDF) has accused Irma
Inashvili, a candidate for the position of majoritarian MP of Sagarejo from Patriots’ Alliance, of xenophobia. [page.7] >>
2
personally met with Mr.
Turava who was in a medical clinic,
though he refused to sign the judgment. Due to the aforementioned, the
actions of Merab Turava were referred
to the Commission on Ethics and Dis-
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SEPTEMBER, 2015
ciplinary Issues of the Constitutional
Court of Georgia, so that it would study
them and prepare a corresponding
opinion. The Court also released another statement which indicates that,
according to the applicable law, the
refusal to sign a judgment, which is a
violation of the judge’s constitutional
obligation, cannot hinder the Court
from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to pass, sign, and announce
the judgment.
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PRESSURE ON THE
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
The judgment of the Constitutional Court in the case of
former Mayor of Tbilisi, Gigi Ugulava, was followed by
varied reactions of representatives of the public and the
authorities.
On September 18, 2015, the Constitutional Court released a statement that indicated that “various groups
continue to gather in front of private residences of judges
and voice intimidating statements and appeals for physical violence toward judges and their family members.
Such acts endanger the safety of judges of the Constitutional Court and their family members.” Accordingly,
the Court called on law enforcement bodies to respond
to the aforementioned acts in a timely manner. However, according to the President of the Constitutional Court,
George Papuashvili, the protests were not stopped, the
responsibility for which lies on the authorities. It should
be emphasized that the applicable legislation prohibits
holding a protest in front of a judge’s private residence.
The comments of representatives of the authorities on
the ongoing developments are particularly noteworthy. According to Gia Volski, Chairman of the Georgian Dream
faction in the Parliament of Georgia,
“The Constitutional Court and its President Papuashvili personally have taken
part in a well-staged performance of
the UNM; the trial at which Ugulava was
supposed to get a final sentence was
scheduled for tomorrow.” The Speaker of
the Parliament, Davit Usupashvili, does
not see a problem in the protest rallies
related to the Court’s judgment and
calls on the judges to respect freedom
of expression. In the opinion of the Constitutional Court,
the said statement may be perceived as justification and
encouragement of the pressure on the judges and their
family members. According to the comments by Tamar
Sanikidze, the Minister of Education and Science, “the
judgment of the Constitutional Court does not constitute
the grounds for releasing the former mayor of the capital,
Gigi Ugulava, from imprisonment” and ”it is unclear and
comical that the UNM has started finding laws adopted
under their government unconstitutional.” And the President of Georgia perceives these developments as an attempt to politicize the trials.
The civil society sector also responded to the ongoing
developments. Non-governmental organizations gave a
strictly negative assessment to the recent statements of
political officials about the Constitutional Court of Georgia and to the inappropriate response of public bodies
to the threats against judges and their family members,
which, in their opinion, may be perceived TO BE CONTINUED >>
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SEPTEMBER, 2015
as an attempt to exert pressure on the Court.
These organizations support the judgment and the released statements of the Constitutional Court and call
upon all political actors to refrain from statements that
bring discredit on the judiciary and may be perceived as
an attempt to exert influence on judges or to interfere
with their activity.
The instances of pressure on the judges of the Constitutional Court and their family members were also followed by a statement of the President of the Venice Commission who noted that “criticism should be voiced in a
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respectful and legal manner. The privacy of the judges
and their families has to be respected.”
It should be noted that on September 17, 2015, after the
announcement of the judgment of the Constitutional
Court and on the basis of a motion of the lawyers of Gigi
Ugulava, the Tbilisi City Court released Mr. Ugulava from
pre-trial detention, while at a session held on the next
day, on September 18, 2015, the Court found him guilty
in the cases concerning the territory of Rike and Tbilservice Group and sentenced him to imprisonment for a period of four years and six months.
On September 14, 2015, vine-growers of Kakheti
held a protest in Gurjaani. An MP from the United
National Movement, Giorgi Gviniashvili, who was
at the protest was hit in the face and assaulted verbally by a stranger. The MP linked this incident to a
statement of the Prime Minister of Georgia. Specifically, before the said incident, when talking about
problems that had emerged regarding the price of
grapes, Irakli Garibashvili commented on the activities of Mr. Gviniashvili as the former Governor of Kakheti and appealed to law enforcement bodies to get
rid of “these provocateurs”. He said that “it’s absolutely impermissible that a discredited organization like
the National Movement goes there together with
20-30 people and is planning to create tension in the
population by intrigues and provocations.”
According to news reports, the person who assaulted the MP physically is an activist of Georgian Dream.
He was detained by the police, but was released on
the same day on the basis of a written promise not
to repeat the offense. The investigation is underway
under Part 1, Article 125 of the Criminal Code (battery or other violence that has caused physical pain
of the victim but has not been followed by intentional less serious damage to health).
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MP GIORGI
GVINIASHVILI IS
ASSAULTED
PHYSICALLY
THE CASE OF SO-CALLED
“NARUSHILOVKA”
The programs of Rustavi 2 TV station – P.S. and Archevani
– have publicized videos that a former senior lieutenant
of the police, Giorgi Babunashvili, handed to the Timer
news agency and the Kronika+ newspaper. According
to the videos, private persons – close relatives of various
public officials, including the brother of Levan Izoria, as
well as those of Bidzina Ivanishvili – possess special violation permits, the so-called “narushilovka”. This permit
is issued for a definite term for the purposes of conducting special operations, in accordance with an established
procedure. The patrol police are not entitled to stop,
search, administer an alcohol test on, or ask the name of
the holder of this permit. The special permit is issued on
the basis of an order of the Minister of Internal Affairs.
It should be noted that, apart from the special permits,
the disseminated videos show instances of physical assault on citizens by high-ranking police officials. They
TO BE CONTINUED >>
also depict instances of exceeding of
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SEPTEMBER, 2015
official powers by police officers.
Giorgi Babunashvili says he was dismissed from the
Ministry of Internal Affairs due to the well-known
footage related to Davit Tsinaridze. He also notes
that he has been threatened for disseminating the
videos and that he is seeking a political asylum in
one of the European states.
After the dissemination of the videos, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Giorgi Mgebrishvili, issued
an order invalidating the special permits that had
been issued on the basis of a corresponding order of 2009.
According to the statement released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry has launched an
investigation regarding the aforementioned videos.
In the case of identifying a violation, the General Inspection of the MIA will respond appropriately.
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THE COUNCIL OF THE
GEORGIAN CHARTER OF JOURNALISTIC ETHICS GRANTS
THE COMPLAINT OF
MDF, GDI AND TDI
AGAINST GURIANEWS
The complaint of the aforementioned organizations dealt with the article entitled Turkish
Cultural Expansion Goes On by G. Gachechiladze that was published on gurianews.com
on August 8, 2015. In the opinion of the applicants and according to the conclusion of the
Council of the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, publication of the article violated
Principle 7 of the Charter of Journalistic Ethics
according to which “Journalists must understand the dangers of encouraging discrimination on the part of the media; therefore, they
must exert every effort to avoid discrimination of any person on the basis of race, sex,
sexual orientation, language, religion, political and other opinion, national or social origin, or any other grounds.” At present, the said
article has been removed from the website.
DEVELOPMENTS
RELATED TO PRIME
MINISTER’S VISIT
TO OZURGETI
On September 15, 2015, in connection with the Prime
Minister’s visit to Ozurgeti, three activists of the United National Movement and Free Zone spread a banner
inscribed “Government is a liar” over a building on the
town’s central square. For this reason, law enforcers detained the activists (Davit Mzhavanadze, Head of the
Ozurgeti Regional Bureau of the UNM; activists of Free
Zone: Ilia Malazonia and Beso Katamadze) and removed
the banner. The law enforcers draw up a protocol on administrative offence about the detainees for the following offence: “unauthorized performance of various types
of inscriptions, paintings, and symbols on the facades
of buildings, showcases, fences, pillars, trees and plants,
as well as placement of posters, slogans, and banners in
places that are not allocated for this purpose, committed
repeatedly.” The detainees were released as soon as the
Prime Minister’s visit was over.
The Ozurgeti District Court acquitted the detained
activists.
The same visit of the Prime Minister is also related to an
alleged instance of interference with journalistic activity.
Specifically, according to Irakli Vachiberidze, a journalist
of Maestro TV, he was subjected to pressure by the Chief
of the Guria Regional Division of the MIA, Koba Tsertsvadze, because he had asked Irakli Garibashvili a question about the detention of the aforementioned persons. The journalist has explained that K. Tsertsvadze did
not allow him to hear the Prime Minister’s answer and
threatened him with “physical elimination”.
According to the statement of the Minister of Internal
Affairs, the General Inspection of the MIA is ready to
launch an investigation on the basis of the journalist’s application and, if the violation is confirmed, to
respond appropriately. However, as we are faced with
signs of a possible crime rather than a violation committed by an official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
the case must immediately be investigated by the
Prosecutor’s Office, not by the General Inspection of
the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
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SEPTEMBER, 2015
CASES OF ALLEGED EXCEEDING OF
POWERS BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
On September 10, 2015, family members and relatives
of Roman Kekiashvili who gathered in front of the police station in Kobuleti protested his detention and declared that law enforcers had planted a narcotic substance on him.
The relatives of R. Kekiashvili accuse the Deputy Chief of
the Kobuleti Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
Irakli Shakarashvili, of exceeding his powers. According
to them, the detainee was given a drug test which failed
to confirm the consumption of a narcotic substance.
On September 8, 2015, the police conducted a special
operation on Saint-Petersburg Street in Tbilisi. Citizens
who witnessed this fact declare that the police officers
exceeded their powers.
One of the leaders of the Association of Young Human
Rights Advocates, Nika Memanishvili, who was also on
the scene of the incident, declares that the exceeding of
powers by the law enforcers was manifested in aggression and verbal and physical assault on citizens who had
witnessed the special operation.
The relatives of Giorgi Makhinia who was detained in the
town of Ozurgeti on September 23, 2015, also blame law
enforcers for exceeding their powers. According to them,
under suspicious circumstances, while police officers
were searching the defendant’s apartment, they found
military ammunition – cartridges of firearms – which
does not belong to the defendant. The detainee’s relatives and neighbors state that the said cartridges were
planted on G. Makhinia by the law enforcers.
The detainees’ lawyer and relatives believe that the police were deliberately trying to arrest him by all means
possible. This doubt is exacerbated by the fact that the
police had also conducted a search of the defendant’s
apartment two or three months before, during which
they found no prohibited items.
On September 23, it became known that officers of
the State Security Service had illegally detained a minor: the 16-year-old girl declares that in the evening of
August 16, 2015, she was abducted by officers of the
State Security Service and held all night in the “Module” building. According to the girl, she was forced to
watch a video showing members of the so-called Islamic State beheading people. She said that officers
of the State Security Service were demanding that she
confess to being aware of her brother’s intention to go
to Syria. The girl’s brother, Davit Pirisebia, was arrested
on the charges of becoming a member of the terrorist
organization.
The underage girl’s aunt, Seva Pirisebia, states that
her niece has been unable to sleep normally since the
abduction. The girl was also dismissed from job – the
owner of the café-bar where she worked said he didn’t
need problems.
The civil society sector has appealed to the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia, Giorgi Badashvili, with a request to
launch an investigation into this fact, although information about launching of investigation is yet to be
disseminated.
LAWYER’S FAMILY IS ATTACKED BY
ARMED PEOPLE IN KHONI
On September 2, 2015, the family of lawyer Robinzon
Khurtsilava was attacked by several persons armed with
firearms in the village of Matkhoji, Khoni Municipality. The
attackers physically assaulted the lawyer and his wife. Ac-
cording to the victims, the attackers took valuables and
gold jewelry from the house. Due to the grave condition
of lawyer R. Khurtsilava, which was manifested in facial
TO BE CONTINUED >>
bone fractures and injuries on other parts
6
of the body, he was operated on immediately.
R. Khurtsilava was a lawyer of Levan Bobokhidze, a brother of Akaki Bobokhidze who is an MP from the United National Movement. His activity is related to the restoration
of two illegally dismissed public servants of the Khoni
Municipality to their jobs. One of them is the sister-in-law
of Akaki Bobokhidze – Mrs. Khatuna Bakhtadze, and the
other is Ms. Natia Kutaladze who was dismissed from job
during a pregnancy leave. The Khoni District Court found
the dismissal of both persons unlawful and restored
them to their positions. The MP from the majority of the
Parliament, Akaki Bobokhidze, has linked the incident to
the professional activity of R. Khurtsilava and called on
the authorities to investigate the crime effectively.
SEPTEMBER, 2015
STATEMENT OF CIVIL PLATFORM “NO TO
PHOBIA!” REGARDING
THE REPORT OF CHAIRPERSON OF GEORGIAN
DREAM – DEMOCRATIC
GEORGIA FACTION OF
THE TOWN COUNCIL OF
KHULO MUNICIPALITY
The organizations comprising the civil platform “No
to Phobia!” have released a joint statement regarding a document published on the official website of
the Town Council of the Khulo Municipality – in particular, the report of the Chairperson of the Georgian
Dream – Democratic Georgia faction. In the opinion of
the signatory organizations, the document published
on the agency’s official website contains hate speech
and armenophobic expressions, which contributes to
inciting xenophobia and hate in society. In particular,
the report mentions the Armenian nationality in a negative context in relation to Mikheil Saakashvili, which
is followed by severe criticism of Mr. Saakashvili. Thus,
the document presents a concrete ethnic affiliation as
a shameful phenomenon. It should be noted that the
document is still accessible on the Web, though the text
has been corrected and it now mentions “former president” instead of “Armenian Saakyan”.
SHUTTERSTOCK
<< BEGINNING
GROUP OF
GEORGIAN
RACISTS
On September 21, 2015, an Internet user “Georgian
Ultras” disseminated a video on the social network
which depicts a group of persons physically assaulting people walking in the street. The description of
the video indicates the following: “Bergman against
negroes”. As shown by the video, the said Georgian
racist group targets persons of color, as well as Turks
and Arabs.
In connection with the disseminated photo and video, non-governmental organizations comprising the
civil platform “No to Phobia!” released a joint statement. The statement emphasized the threat that xenophobia and racism, and especially their extremist
manifestations, pose to everybody. “At such a time, it
is extremely important that law enforcement bodies
respond to offenses motivated by discrimination and
hate in a timely and effective manner and that they
have an adequate perception of the significance and
sensitivity of the issue.” The authors of the statement
called upon the Ministry of Internal Affairs to identify
the aforementioned group in a timely manner and to
take all reasonable measures to prevent violence in
the future.
According to the statement released by the Ministry
of Internal Affairs on September 29, 2015, officers of
Police Station No. 7 of the Old Tbilisi Police Division
detained two persons in connection with the aforementioned fact on the charges of racial discrimination.
The investigation is underway on the charges of racial
discrimination committed by a group of persons.
7
XENOPHOBIC
EXPRESSIONS
OF POLITICIANS
NGO Media Development Foundation (MDF) has
accused Irma Inashvili, a candidate for the position of majoritarian MP of Sagarejo from Patriots’
Alliance, of xenophobia. To confirm its accusation,
the MDF refers to statements made by Irma Inashvili in the Gamis Studia program on Obieqtivi TV on
August 13, 2015.
“Iranians have taken our land; they took it on lease,
multi-year lease, and we are their employees. How
can we be so incapable that we can’t take care of our
land? Or why is it so difficult to develop legislation
that will ensure that the Georgian land is owned by
Georgians? ... Let’s count how many thousands of
hectares of land the Iranians have taken on lease,
in Sagarejo for example, and how many Georgians
work on that land as slaves. And what about pastures? Who owns the pastures? ... OK, thanks a lot,
but they are bringing workforce from China and India for free.”
In the same program, the host, Bondo Mdzinarishvili,
says: “Without any kind of xenophobia, I argue that
when a Kakhetian man works as a farmhand for Iranians, it is a catastrophe, a national catastrophe.”
On September 9, 2015, a member of the parliamentary majority, Gogi Topadze, when asked by the iPress
news agency whether the decrease in imports would
contribute to balancing the trade deficit, replied:
“There were 5.5 million people in Georgia several
years ago, and did we lack anything? Vegetables,
fruit or canned products? Why should we be buying
Turkish chicken which, according to the warnings,
cause impotence in men? We have sold a lot of land
to the Chinese, Turks, and Iranians... We have driven
out our peasants.”
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SEPTEMBER, 2015
DEATH OF AN
INMATE
On September 9, 2015, G.Ch. (b. 1987) died in
Penitentiary Institution No. 8. According to the
official statement of the Ministry of Corrections
and Probation, the inmate fell suddenly on the
territory of the institution; he was immediately
given medical assistance and rushed to Medical Institution No. 18, though the inmate could
not be saved.
According to the same statement of the Ministry, G.Ch. passed the last medical examination
on August 4 this year. The medical card says
that the inmate was practically healthy and was
not undergoing any medication treatment. Investigation into the fact has been launched
under Article 116 of the Criminal Code (murder of negligence). The forensic examination
has also been scheduled.
THE ISSUE OF
CONSTITUTIONALITY OF BY-ELECTIONS IN MAJORITARIAN DISTRICTS
On August 31, 2015, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia adopted a decision
on holding by-elections in the districts of
Sagarejo no. 11 and Martvili no. 65. The CEC
will also hold elections of the local representative bodies – town councils – in the election
districts of Dmanisi, Vani, Khobi, TO BE CONTINUED >>
8
and Sagarejo. By the decision of the CEC, the
elections will be held on October 31, 2015, with the majoritarian election system.
Experts of constitutional law have responded to the
aforementioned, saying that the decision of the CEC is
unconstitutional. Their opinion is based on the May 28,
2015 judgment of the Constitutional Court of Georgia
on the case of Citizens of Georgia Ucha Nanuashvili and
Mikheil Sharashidze v. Parliament of Georgia. The Constitutional Court granted the said complaint and found unconstitutional the norms of the Election Code that established the procedure of delineation of the boundaries of
<< BEGINNING
SEPTEMBER, 2015
73 election districts with a single mandate. In the opinion
of the experts of constitutional law, the CEC announced
elections in districts that no longer exist in accordance
with the judgment of the Constitutional Court. They believe that the CEC’s decision, as well as elections held on
the basis of this decision, contradicts the judgment of
the Constitutional Court and, accordingly, the Constitution of Georgia. The experts call on the Public Defender
of Georgia, one fifth of MPs, and the President of Georgia
to apply to the Constitutional Court of Georgia so that
it will assess the constitutionality of the aforementioned
decision of the CEC.
On September 8, 2015, journalist Eka Mishveladze talked
about possible surveillance on her in a program on the Rustavi 2 TV station, stating that the relevant services knew about
the relationship between her and politician Aleksi Petriashvili earlier than the adviser to the Director General of the Public
Broadcaster. It should be emphasized that Eka Mishveladze’s
authorship program on the Public Broadcaster – Pirveli
Studia – was closed, which has been attributed to the relationship between her and Aleksi Petriashvili. In connection
with the aforementioned, member organizations of the “This
concerns you – they are still listening to us” campaign has
released a statement. They called on law enforcement bodies to launch an investigation on the basis of the journalist’s
public statement without delay and to identify the offenders.
The Personal Data Protection Inspector has also responded
to this fact. In her opinion, “public statements about interference with private life like this should not be left without
attention on the part of the law enforcement agencies.”
The statistical data released by the Supreme Court
encompasses the first eight months of 2015 and
concern criminal and administrative cases, as well
as civil and tax disputes.
Of the 3,125 cases examined on the merits during the first eight months of 2015, the courts of
first instance delivered an acquitting verdict in
relation to 123 persons, while 73 persons were
partially acquitted. The appeals courts admitted
1,118 criminal cases, and a condemning verdict
was replaced with an acquitting verdict in relation to 13 persons. As for cassation complaints,
the Supreme Court examined 405 of 446 criminal
cases it had admitted and acquitted 6 persons.
The common courts of Georgia deliberated on
the application of a measure of restraint in 7,910
cases, and they applied incarceration as a measure of restraint in 2,453 cases. The TO BE CONTINUED >>
SHUTTERSTOCK
ALLEGED SURVEILLANCE ON JOURNALIST
THE SUPREME
COURT RELEASES BASIC STATISTICAL DATA
ON EXAMINATION OF CASES
IN COMMON
COURTS
9
majority of measures of restraint (60.1%)
constitute bail. The courts of first instance granted
motions regarding a plea bargain in relation to
6,360 persons. The majority of such cases were
decided without examination on the merits. In
total, in comparison with the data of the same
period of 2014, a plea bargain was concluded
with 15.6% fewer people. As for eavesdropping,
during the first six months of 2015, 178 of 217
motions regarding eavesdropping and recording of telephone conversations were granted in
the courts of first instance.
According to the data of eight months of 2015,
there are 9,685 convicts in the country; of these,
3,040 persons had been sentenced to deprivation of liberty, while parole had been applied in
relation to 4,446 persons.
The number of complaints in civil cases admitted
by the courts of first instance amounts to 32,553,
while the figures of administrative and tax cases
admitted by them amount to 13,328 and 1,523,
respectively.
SEPTEMBER, 2015
<< BEGINNING
EIGHT-MONTHPREGNANT WOMAN
DISMISSED FROM
AKHMETA MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION APPLIES TO
COURT
According to news reports, the Public Defender’s Office has not yet responded to the case of Ana Akhalauri that concerns her illegal dismissal from job, due
to which she has applied to a court demanding a
pregnancy leave. As is known, the Head of the Municipal Administration of Akhmeta, Beka Baidauri, dismissed an employee of the Municipal Administration,
eight-month-pregnant Ana Akhalauri, from her job on
August 14, 2015. A day before, Mrs. Akalauri had written an application demanding a pregnancy leave.
SHUTTERSTOCK
THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS
RELEASES CRIME STATISTICS OF AUGUST
2015 AND JANUARY-AUGUST 2015
On September 17, 2015, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia released the statistics of crimes registered in August and in the period of January-August
this year. According to the data of all the investigative
agencies, a total of 3,402 crimes were registered in
August, 43% of which have been solved. As for the
statistics of January-August 2015, the number of registered crimes has decreased by 1,123 compared with
the same period of 2014.
In August, the figures of cases of domestic violence
(an increase by 77.78%), rape, and crimes against
sexual freedom and inviolability have increased
considerably compared with the statistics of the
same month of last year. The figures of the following
crimes have also increased considerably: illicit shipment of psychotropic substances, exceeding of official powers, entrepreneurial and economic crimes,
crimes against family and minors. As for the aforementioned statistics of eight months, the number
of robberies has increased considerably compared
with the data of 2014.
10
SEPTEMBER, 2015
THE OFFICE OF THE
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION INSPECTOR
DEVELOPS RECOMMENDATIONS ON ONLINE PRIVACY
The Office of the Personal Data Protection Inspector has
developed recommendations on online privacy for Internet users and Internet service providers. The recommendations are aimed at raising the consciousness – informing
the persons of the aforementioned categories of the risks
and rights related to the use of the Web. The Inspector’s
Office developed special guidelines for Internet service
providers and Internet users.
THE PRESIDENT
SIGNS DRAFT LAW ON
THE NATIONAL BANK
VETO ON WHICH WAS
OVERRIDDEN
The President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili, has
signed the draft Law on Changes to the Organic Law of
Georgia on the National Bank, the veto on which was
overridden by the Parliament.
According to Davit Pataraia, Head of the Presidential
Administration, the President of Georgia continues to
disagree with the package of laws adopted in connection with the National Bank. Moreover, he believes that
the overriding of the veto by the Parliament was a serious mistake, though the President would only have refused to sign the law veto on which was overridden if,
in his opinion, this law or any of its norms contradicted
a basic, fundamental value. According to D. Pataraia,
“This was not the case here.”
The Parliament overrode the veto on the aforementioned draft law on September 3, 2015. The changes
to the organic law provide for the separation of the
Supervision Service from the National Bank and its formation as an independent agency.
INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR
DEMOCRACY
September 15 is the International Day for
Democracy which was proclaimed by the
UN General Assembly in 2007. In connection with this day, a special exhibition was
held in the Tbilisi Palace of the Parliament
of Georgia. On the invitation of the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, the exhibition of attended by members of the Parliament and representatives of the diplomatic corps, non-governmental organizations,
and the media.
CHANGES TO
THE LAW OF
GEORGIA ON
THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE
On September 28, 2015, changes to the Law
of Georgia on the Prosecutor’s Office entered
into force. The draft law had been developed
and submitted to the Parliament for approval by the Government of Georgia, under the
authorship of the Ministry of Justice.
The changes envisage the creation of the
Prosecutorial Council that will comprise
certain persons chosen by the civil society
sector, in addition to representatives of the
executive and legislative branches of government. The main functions of the Council
will be as follows: appointment of the ad hoc
prosecutor; approval of the candidate for
the position of the Chief Prosecutor and submission of a proposal/submission on his/her
dismissal from office to the Government and
the Parliament within the limits of the Council’s competence; conducting disciplinary
legal proceedings against the TO BE CONTINUED >>
11
Chief Prosecutor; hearing the reports of the Chief Prosecutor/Deputy Chief
Prosecutor on the activity of the bodies of
the Prosecutor’s Office and carrying out other functions envisaged by law.
In addition to the Prosecutorial Council, the
changes also envisage the creation of the
Prosecutorial Conference which constitutes
an assembly of prosecutors of Georgia and
investigators of the Prosecutor’s Office of
Georgia. The powers of the Conference will
be the selection of prosecutor members of
the Prosecutorial Council.
In accordance with the draft law, the Chief
Prosecutor will be appointed to office for a
period of six years, and it will be prohibited to
elect the same person twice to this position.
In addition, the legislative changes introduce
the institution of the ad hoc prosecutor who
will be appointed in the case of sufficient
grounds to assume that the Chief Prosecutor
has committed a crime. The function of the
ad hoc prosecutor will be to prepare a legal
opinion on the culpability of the Chief Prosecutor and to submit it to the Prosecutorial
Council.
The draft law lays out the procedure of appointment and dismissal of the Chief Prosecutor which involves the Prosecutorial Council, as well as the Government and the Parliament.
According to the explanatory note to the
draw law, when developing the changes,
the Government aimed to take into consideration the reports and recommendations of
international organizations on the shortcomings of the system of the Prosecutor’s Office
and on methods of their elimination.
<< BEGINNING
SEPTEMBER, 2015
CHANGES TO THE
PROCEDURE OF THE
DRUG TEST
On September 30, 2015, the Minister of Internal Affairs of
Georgia issued an Order on Approval of Instruction on Bringing a Person for Examination with the Aim of Ascertaining
the Fact of Consumption of a Narcotic and/or Psychotropic
Substance. The changes concern the procedure of the drug
test. In particular, the changes have specified the circumstances in which law enforcement officers are entitled to demand that a person undergo a drug test:
●● if the officer has witnessed the fact of commission of
an illegal act;
●● if the person tries to hide or avoids the fulfillment of
a lawful demand of the officer while the police is carrying out police actions envisaged by law and there
are sufficient grounds to assume that the person has
consumed a narcotic and/or psychotropic substance
or is under the influence thereof;
●● if there is information obtained as a result of intelligence activity or a covert investigative action in
the manner established by the Georgian legislation;
a notification received by LEPL “112” of the Ministry
of Internal Affairs; or information about illegal consumption of a narcotic and/or psychotropic substance by a person that was provided directly to a
police officer by an identified source.
At first, the authorized person should offer the person to take
a drug test voluntarily on the expense of the state. In the case
of refusal, the law enforcer is entitled to detain the person for
an administrative offence and to forcibly transfer him/her for
taking a drug test. The detainee may appeal the action of the
detainer in a higher body (with an official) or in court in the
manner established by the Georgian legislation.
THIS PROJECT IS FINANCIALLY
SUPPORTED BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS
FUND OF THE NETHERLANDS’
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
2 D. Gamrekeli Str., 3rd floor, Tbilisi 0194, Georgia | Tel/Fax: (+995 32) 272 80 08 | [email protected] | www.gdi.ge