On February 14, 2014 GYLA held presentation of the Research – Obligation to Submit FOIA Reports (practice of Georgia, the United States and Australia). As the research has demonstrated, public agencies responsible for submission of FOIA reports, as well as agencies authorized to receive the reports have pro-forma approach to the process. They fail to implement even trivial obligations such as publication of freedom of information reports on the web-site of the Legislative Herald of Georgia within the terms established by legislation or submission of the reports to the President, the Parliament and the Prime-Minister according to the established rules.
2014-02-14 01:37 See moreWith assistance from GYLA’s lawyer the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection was ordered to issue normative acts in favor of individuals with disabilities Lawyer from GYLA’s Tbilisi Office represented interests of R.K., in the case against the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection. Under the court decision, the government of Georgia and the Ministry were ordered to issue normative acts, which should determine the amount of allowance for family care of individuals with disabilities and regulate other related issues.
2014-02-11 02:22 See moreGeorgian Young Lawyers’ Association is making some explanations about the statement of the Ministry of Energy in terms of public defender. The statement provides that: “When it comes to how reasonable it is to implement the Khudoni project and how necessary to hold discussion and make decisions, this goes beyond the authority and competence of the ombudsman”.
2014-02-10 00:58 See moreYesterday media outlets released a statement of the Minister of Justice saying that “on the very first day of the so-called tractors case I said that I believed in the truth of Kirvalidze and his team before law.” This has raised the question of whether the Minister of Justice could have had a positive legal influence on criminal proceedings instituted against the defendants if she believed from the very first day in their innocence.
2014-02-10 00:21 See moreThe undersigned organizations welcome the initiative of the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Protection on initiation of the monitoring of Residential Childcare Institutions. According to the information released by the Ministry, the monitoring will cover all the institutions including the children’s homes under the Patriarchate. It aims to determine compliance of the institutions with childcare standards established in Georgia.
2014-02-07 04:54 See moreWe, Transparency International Georgia, the Georgian Young Lawyers Association and the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, believe that the amendments proposed to the Inter-factional Working Group by the ruling party are not enough to create a fair voting system for the upcoming municipal elections. We regret that the Inter-factional Working Group did not view reform of the electoral system as a priority to ensure fair and equal elections.
2014-02-05 03:22 See more"Media Advocacy Coalition believes that the competition for selection of the Public Defender for Protection of Customers' Rights under GNCC lacked transparency." As per the law on "National Regulation Bodies", the public defender shall be selected through the open competition. Nevertheless, the announced competition ended without publication of the competition commission or the list of the applicants. Information on the conducted competition is not available on the official website of the Parliament so far. Furthermore, interviewing process have also been conducted non-transparently.
2014-02-03 06:10 See moreOn January 17, 2014 the Ministry of Justice disclosed the settlement agreement and its additional documents made between the successors of Arkadi (Badri) Patarkatsishvili and Georgia in the international arbitration. In the arbitration, A.P.’s family members requested to be given ownership of “Imedi” TV and that the lease on Mtatsminda Park be reinstated, or in the alternative, sought compensation in the amount of 400 million USD. As mentioned, the arbitration ended with settlement under certain conditions between A.P.’s successors and Georgia.
2014-02-03 01:51 See moreProtection of cultural heritage by Law is state’s constitutional obligation. Accordingly, the state shall undertake all necessary measures with a view to protect and maintain it for future generation. For the past period media aired actively developments around prehistoric goldmine discovered and examined by German and Georgian scientists on the territory of Bolnisi municipality located on Sakdrisi-Kachagiani hill. Part of the scientists insist on uniqueness of the goldmine considering it the oldest among the discovered, prehistoric gold mines in the world, dated back to IV-III millennia B.C.
2014-01-30 05:42 See moreYesterday video footage was released through social networks and mass media illustrating how the former Minister of Interior addresses representatives of the task force with the following words: “I need two men, two corpses, bring me these two corpses, that’s it, the reward is going to be big.” Moreover, the video footage also reflects other high state officials, including Mikhail Saakashvili, the ex-president of Georgia. As reported, the video footage demonstrates the special operation carried out against participants of the Mukhrovani riot in 2009. As a result Gia Krialashvili died and two other individuals were wounded seriously. Some other participants of the riot were brought to justice and received guilty verdict.
2014-01-30 04:57 See more