The draft law of Georgia on Partnership Fund was submitted to the Parliament of Georgia on February 25, 2011. The draft has been co-authored and initiated by the government of Georgia. The Committee on Sector Economy and Economic Policy and the Committee on Finance and Budget have already adopted the draft with the first hearing. The Agrarian Issues Committee is scheduled to consider the legal initiative with the first hearing tomorrow, at 10:00 am, 1 hour before the plenary session.

The legal initiative of the government of Georgia envisages establishing a partnership fund in the form of a stock society. The stock society will be funded from the following resources: funds obtained from privatization, dividends of companies under the state ownership (including selling of shares or bonds), etc. The fund will operate as a non-profit company established to discharge the following public legal authority: creation of jobs, attraction of investments, providing support for completion of suspended projects and transferring ownership of implemented projects from the public sector to the private sector, i.e. privatization. The partnership fund will mostly focus on funding and implementing projects proposed by private sector. It is noteworthy that according to the draft the project will be considered even if its value equals GEL 5 million in agricultural sphere or GEL 30 million in non-agricultural sphere.

Initiated by the Government of Georgia, on February 18, 2011 draft law on “amendments to certain legislative acts of Georgia” was submitted to the parliament of Georgia. Under the draft prepared by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Correction and Legal Assistance of Georgia envisages use of public service as a non-imprisonment form of a punishment and its enforcement in a new manner.

Initiated by the Government of Georgia, on February 18, 2011 draft law on “amendments to certain legislative acts of Georgia” was submitted to the parliament of Georgia. Under the draft prepared by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Correction and Legal Assistance of Georgia envisages use of public service as a non-imprisonment form of a punishment and its enforcement in a new manner.

The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association responds to the announcement released by the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia (MRA) released on February 28, 2011 concerning provision of financial compensation in the amount of USD 10 000 to families internally displaced following the August 2008 war.

According to the statement, “the process of issuing the so-called compensations is over, as it applied only to the internally displaced homeless families affected by the armed aggression of Russia from August 6, 2008, who managed to purchase housing with the state-offered subsidies and their savings.”  “The so-called compensation offer has expired. The process of providing IDPs with housing solutions in the regions continues”.

On February 4, 2010, members of the Parliament initiated the on amendments and supplements to the law of Georgia on Procurement. The proposed draft significantly widens the area to which the simplified procurement applies. GYLA negatively evaluates unjustified broadening of the scope of simplified procurement for certain procurers and introduction of new exceptions to the law by widening the circle of procuring subjects (the Ministry of Interior Affairs of Georgia and agencies within the Ministry, the Ministry of Defense of Georgia and agencies within the Ministry, the Special Service of State Protection). Furthermore, GYLA called on MPs to take actions that will not allow deterioration of existing mechanisms of the law (click here to view the full text of GYLA’s opinion).

On February 4, 2010, members of the Parliament initiated the on amendments and supplements to the law of Georgia on Procurement. The proposed draft significantly widens the area to which the simplified procurement applies. GYLA negatively evaluates unjustified broadening of the scope of simplified procurement for certain procurers and introduction of new exceptions to the law by widening the circle of procuring subjects (the Ministry of Interior Affairs of Georgia and agencies within the Ministry, the Ministry of Defense of Georgia and agencies within the Ministry, the Special Service of State Protection). Furthermore, GYLA called on MPs to take actions that will not allow deterioration of existing mechanisms of the law (click here to view the full text of GYLA’s opinion).

The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association submitted its legal opinions concerning a number of legal drafts, including:

Amendments to the law of Georgia on Conflict of Interests and Corruption in Public Service. GYLA welcomes the draft that aims at further elaboration of the law by including “State Minister and his/her deputy” in the list of state officials. At the same time, GYLA applied to MPs with a recommendation to designate heads of structural subunits of the State Minister’s office and their equivalents under the category of state officials (click here to view the full text of GYLA’s legal opinion).

On March 25, 2011, patrol police officers dispersed peaceful protesters gathered in support of prisoners outside the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance of Georgia. Seven protesters were detained on charges of administrative offence: Giorgi Burjanadze, Vladimer, Sadgobelashvili, Merab Chikashvili, Otar Bekauri, Akaki Chikovani, Besik Tabatadze and Giorgi Kharabadze.

We denounce the incident and consider that due to the following circumstances dispersion of the assembly and detention of protesters amounted to violation of the right of assembly and manifestation, guaranteed by law:

1. Tbilisi City Hall was provided with prior notice about the intention to hold the gathering, pursuant to the applicable law;
2. The blockage of the public thoroughfare was natural, due to the amount of the rally participants and for a short period of time, which is confirmed by the witness’s statement before court;
3. The patrol police was not authorized to order dispersion, even if the rally participants had violated the law, as under paragraph 4 of Article 11 of the Law of Georgia on Assembly and Manifestation, the authority is reserved for municipal governance;
4. During the trial, patrol police officers stated that they were not concerned whether the assembly was legal or whether the protesters had the right to block the public thoroughfare. They also clarified that they started dispersion of the rally immediately upon arrival;
5. If the protesters had violated the law, it was the municipal authority who should have ordered the protesters to vacate the public thoroughfare – which was not the case and the law enforcement officers started dispersing the protesters without any prior order and by use of force.

The right to assembly and manifestation entails the government’s obligation to tolerate. According to the case law of ECHR, short-term impediment of free movement, even by a small group of people, may not serve as a legal basis for dispersion of a gathering and detention of protesters.