Today, the Court of Appeals of Tbilisi upheld the lawsuit, submitted by the family of one of the deceased persons during the natural disaster back then on June 13, 2015, on reimbursing actual and moral damages.
The court proceeding of the case lasted for 5 years. The court has ascertained that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, the Patrol Police Department, the Emergency Management Agency and the National Environment Agency failed to comply with their statutory obligations to protect the lives and health of citizens in the event of natural disaster that resulted in the death of a person. The court defined that the state failed to take preventive measures properly and also established that the uncoordinated actions of the relevant authorities directly in the course of the natural disaster brought about serious consequences that could have been avoided.
The decision of the Court of Appeal is not legally enforceable. GYLA has been advocating for the interests of victims since 2015.