On August 31, 2015 the Georgian Dream coalition announced that no fundamental changes to the electoral system were being planned prior to the 2016 parliamentary elections. Instead, the government plans to introduce two changes. Firstly, a new 50% threshold will be introduced to the majoritarian electoral system. This will mean that if in the first round of voting a candidate does not receive 50% of the vote, a second round run-off will be triggered. Secondly, majoritarian electoral district boundaries will be adjusted, in accordance with the ruling of the Constitutional Court of Georgia and the Council of Europe’s 2002 Code of Good Practice.
2015-09-03 12:39 See moreOn August 31, 2015 the Georgian Dream coalition announced that no fundamental changes to the electoral system were being planned prior to the 2016 parliamentary elections. Instead, the government plans to introduce two changes. Firstly, a new 50% threshold will be introduced to the majoritarian electoral system. This will mean that if in the first round of voting a candidate does not receive 50% of the vote, a second round run-off will be triggered. Secondly, majoritarian electoral district boundaries will be adjusted, in accordance with the ruling of the Constitutional Court of Georgia and the Council of Europe’s 2002 Code of Good Practice.
2015-09-03 12:39 See moreGeorgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) is extremely concerned about the decision of Imedi TV management to temporarily suspend the segment of social and political talk shows during its fall season. As a result, two highly popular talk shows - Imedis Kvira and Reaktsia hosted by Inga Grigolia were closed down. Management of the TV Company explained the decision by its desire to change format of existing programs and create “a brand new TV product” for 2016 season.
2015-09-01 12:00 See moreGeorgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) is extremely concerned about the decision of Imedi TV management to temporarily suspend the segment of social and political talk shows during its fall season. As a result, two highly popular talk shows - Imedis Kvira and Reaktsia hosted by Inga Grigolia were closed down. Management of the TV Company explained the decision by its desire to change format of existing programs and create “a brand new TV product” for 2016 season. Producers and reporters of the said TV programs released a joint statement saying that the decision to close down the programs was rather unexpected, because the management of the TV Company had not discussed it with them. They had not been informed of anticipated changes in advance. The statement also notes that lately authorities had repeatedly expressed their disapproval about the programs and alleges that the decision is politically motivated.
2015-09-01 11:56 See moreIn July 2015, Ministry of Justice proposed draft legislation on reforming the rules of witness interrogation. The draft is based on the opinions of the special group created under the Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Georgia. The group was created given the multiple postponements of enforcing the new rules of witness interrogation adopted in 2009 and its objective was to identify the model of witness interrogation that is in compliance with international human rights obligations.
2015-08-19 17:55 See moreCoalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary reacts to the processes of selection and appointment of judges held in July 2015, which were marked with low degree of transparency and openness. On July 20 the process of interviewing judicial candidates was commenced and went on for several days. Unlike the previous years, the interviews were held behind closed doors, per information on the official web page of the High Council of Justice (HCOJ) and last year’s amendments to the HCOJ rules. Information on the selection of candidates was published on the HCOJ web page with extreme delay, effectively depriving any interested party a chance to attend and evaluate the process.
2015-08-14 10:24 See moreOn August 5, 2015, under the ruling of the Tbilisi City Court, the ltd. “Broadcasting Company Rustavi 2” (Rustavi 2, hereinafter), the shares of the shareholders and the company’s assets were sequestrated; also, the directorate of the Rustavi 2 was prohibited from governing the company or undertaking any actions relating to management of the company, as well as managing the property. This was preceded by the businessman Kibar Khalvashi submitting the lawsuit to the court for returning the “Rustavi 2” shares and requesting sequestration of the property of the “Rustavi 2” partners for the guarantee of the lawsuit.
2015-08-10 12:15 See moreBased on GYLA’s complaint the Constitutional Court prohibited use of illegally obtained evidence in criminal cases On July 31, 2015 the Constitutional Court of Georgia delivered decision on the case Maia Robakhidze vs. the Parliament of Georgia. In the case concerned GYLA represented applicant’s interests. Constitutional Court of Georgia declared unconstitutional words “of this Code” included in Para 1, Article 72 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
2015-08-01 21:20 See moreOn July 29 'Coalition for Equality' presented one-year monitoring report on anti-discrimination law enforcement. The report focuses on the activities that have been carried out for the improvement of anti-discrimination legislation and for its proper implementation from May 2014 to April 1, 2015.
2015-07-29 11:00 See moreOn July 22, 2015 GYLA in partnership with the European Human Rights Advocacy Center (EHRAC) applied to ECtHR about illegal detention of N.J. and termination of criminal investigation and criminal persecution on the fact.
2015-07-24 13:15 See more