GYLA has found that Batumi City Court intends to examine an election complaint pursuant to a general procedure for disputes litigation, rather than examining it within a short timeframe as prescribed by election laws. It essentially violates the spirit of election laws and is harmful to pre-election environment as well as the interests of justice. On July 30, 2013, GYLA and ISFED jointly filed a complaint in Batumi City Court, seeking suspension of spending of GEL 14 million in pre-election period until tabulation of October 27, 2013 presidential election results as these funds have been illegally added to the budget of Adjara A/R.
2013-08-06 05:58 See moreAccording to official reports, on May 13, 2013, 24-year old prisoner Levan Kortava was brutally beaten in Geguti penitentiary establishment, resulting in his death on May 23. Subsequent investigation has uncovered a number of alarming circumstances. According to official reports, on May 12, 2013, Levan Kortava was moved from Rustavi N6 Prison to Geguti N14 Prison. During admission to Geguti Prison he got into a verbal argument with Ilia Shanshashvili, inspector of security department, over provision of psychotropic medication. The latter instructed one of the convicts, Shota Sinauridze to clear up the conflict situation with Levan Kortava, followed by a brutal beating of Kortava by prisoners and his subsequent death from the injuries inflicted.
2013-08-05 06:13 See moreToday GYLA filed against the presidential administration of Georgia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Tbilisi City Hall in Tbilisi City Court over their failure of the authorities to provide access and to provide full access to public information envisaged by the applicable Georgian legislation. GYLA was requesting access to information about all vehicles bought and received as a gift starting from January 1, 2011, dates they were bought/gifted and amounts paid. GYLA was also requesting access to all legal acts that regulate purchase of vehicles in the foregoing state agencies.
2013-08-01 04:15 See moreUnder the presidential order issued on July 30, 2013, convict Tengiz Gunava was granted a pardon and his criminal record was expunged, which has raised certain questions about lawfulness and fairness of the president’s decision. In view of the high public interest, we would like to address some of the key issues involved in the pardoning of Tengiz Gunava. Lawfulness of the presidential order to grant a pardon to T.Gunava from formal/legal point of view Applicable regulation is N277 order of the president of Georgia dated July 19, 2004. Para.2”b”, “e” and “k” of the Order stipulate that pardoning does not apply to a convict if s/he
2013-07-31 11:12 See moreOn July 30, 2013, at 15:00, Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development presented researches in frames of their joint project Georgian and EU Migration CPDD Improving Mechanisms of Migration Control between Georgia and EU.
2013-07-31 05:10 See morePursuant to the amendments made to the Law on 2013 Rebpublican Budget of Adjara Autonomous Republic, budget income of Adjara A/R was increased with GEL 14722700 (fourteen million seven hundred twenty-two thousand and seven hundred), including GEL 13 554 400 (thirteen million five hundred fifty-four thousand and four hundred) allocated for infrastructure and social projects.
2013-07-30 04:50 See morePublic officials’ remuneration is regarded one of the most important aspects for the functioning of public offices both in Georgia and elsewhere in the World. Issues such as effective fight against corruption in public office, attracting qualified candidates to government jobs, keeping public servants motivated and ensuring high quality of work performed are all linked with remuneration. Accordingly, improvement of the pay system must become a priority for any public office reform.
2013-07-30 04:22 See moreDraft amendments to the Law of Georgia on Enforcement Proceedings and the civil Code of Georgia are currently pending before the parliament of Georgia for consideration. The draft has been proposed by MP Gedevan Popkhadze and sponsored by 49 MPs. The draft law envisages suspension till February 1, 2014 of foreclosure of private homes of individuals with defaulted mortgage loans.
2013-07-26 03:42 See moreGeorgian Young Lawyers' Association applies to the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia about the case of Giorgi Gvichiani.
2013-07-25 09:23 See moreThe parliament of Georgia is considering a draft of amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences of Georgia. GYLA has submitted its written opinion on the following two Articles of the proposed draft: Since the Soviet times, Article 171 has been prescribing administrative liability for being in public under the influence of alcohol or in a condition that offends human dignity and public moral. In the proposed formulation “under the influence of alcohol” has been deleted. GYLA believes that both the original formulation that dates back to 1984 and the proposed draft currently under consideration of the parliament are ambiguous, contradicting the principle of legal state in which law should stipulate actions allowed or prohibited in a clear and foreseeable manner; both existing and proposed formulation of Article 171 fail to do so. It provides a broad discretion for law enforcement authorities to decide what constitutes immoral behavior and apply restrictive measures against an individual concerned. Considering that offensive harassment, using a bad language and other similar actions are already qualified as violation, leaving an ambiguous stipulation in the law would be unjustified.
2013-07-25 08:22 See more