GYLA has been monitoring court hearings on Bacho Akhalaia’s case and concludes that prosecution’s conduct contains signs of deliberate delay of the trial. On the September 17th hearing, the prosecutor Revaz Nadoi had to submit his closing argument, however it was not done for his absence (it should be noted that the day before, on September 16th, the hearing on Megis Kardava’s and others case was postponed on the basis of Nadoi’s written application where he stated that preparation for the closing argument on Akhalaia’s case was the reason of postponement). At the next hearing Revaz Nadoi, failed to appear for his worsened health condition, however, the case still misses the relevant medical document justifying the fact.
2013-10-08 09:04 See moreAs it is known to public, GYLA held presentation of the report “Rehabilitation Process beyond the Facade” on September 24 and 27, 2013 in Tbilisi and Batumi. The report discusses in details the the program for Rehabilitation of Historic Districts and Tourism Infrastructure in Batumi carried out by Batumi local self-government in 2009-2013. The projects funded in the framework of the Program, such as construction of Alphabetic Tower and Piazza Square, as well as Historic Fort and Opera House are submitted separately in the report. Important part of this report also addresses monuments with the status of cultural heritage in Batumi.
2013-10-08 06:56 See moreMedia Advocacy Coalition considers situation in the Public Broadcaster alarming. Two members of the Board of Trustees wrote an application on resignation, while others link their decision to the implemented pressure on the Board. Other members also alleged about coercion. Moreover, seven members left in the Board are not authorized to make decisions. Following dismissal of the general director acting director manages the public broadcaster. The process of closing programs and selecting new projects on the Channel I is not transparent and is carried out without public consultations. According to official statement, public broadcaster suffers severe financial crisis that puts at risk proper functioning of the channel.
2013-10-04 02:38 See moreThe Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary states again its position concerning the draft law initiated by Shalva Shavgulidze on “Introducing Amendments to the Organic Law of Georgia on Common Courts” to be discussed by the Parliament of Georgia. As it is known, the Parliament considers the draft by second reading with an accelerated manner today. In addition, today Mr. Konstantine Kublashvili, Chairman of the Supreme Court, expressed his position regarding the legislative draft and suggested temporary suspension of the discussion. In view of above we considered necessary to express our position once again.
2013-10-03 11:33 See moreFor the past period, various media outlets and social networks released information on the President of Georgia funding tuition fees and other expenses associated with studies for Georgian citizens enrolled in master's study programs abroad with a view to promote receiving of education in foreign countries. Public remains unaware of directions and faculties that were granted priority by the special commission set up upon the president's order, about total budget envisaged for that program and the list of individuals who received such funding, as well as the sum allocated per person.
2013-10-03 09:44 See moreThe lawyer from GYLA’s Tbilisi office was representing defendant D.K.’s interests in the criminal case before the court. D.K. has been accused as per Article 19-178(3) of the Penal Code of Georgia, attempt of robbery by a group with advance agreement envisaging deprivation of liberty from 5 to 8 years.
2013-10-03 08:20 See moreToday, on October 2, 2013 organizations “International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy”, “Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association”, “Transparency International Georgia” and “Jumpstart Georgia” held presentation of the elections portal in Holiday Inn at 12:00. ElcetionsProtal.ge is a webpage jointly created by different NGOs and it provides to interested individuals comprehensive information about elections in Georgia. The map of violations enables users to observe online election gaps revealed by three organizations and to publish determined incidents on the web-page by sending the free SMS on the number 90039.
2013-10-03 02:17 See moreThe Parliament of Georgia discusses amendments to the Law on Broadcasting in an accelerated procedural manner. The joint proposal by Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and Transparency International Georgia on the amendments to the Law on Broadcasting was partially considered by the Parliament, for which we would like to express our gratitude. We suggested establishing higher qualification criteria for candidates applying for the membership of Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC). In case the draft law is enforced, the GNCC commissioners will be elected based on their professionalism and relevant work experience.
2013-09-30 10:15 See moreOn September 26, 2013 GYLA submitted its opinion to the Parliament on the draft Police Law. Applicable Police Law was adopted in 1998 and is outdated, while the issue of substituting it with new legislative act compatible with international standards has been on the agenda long ago. The structure of the draft is well developed. It is important that key principles of police activities have been incorporated in a separate chapter and were improved. Nevertheless, GYLA considers that the draft contains significant gaps that needs to be improved.
2013-09-30 07:17 See moreThe Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary welcomes the government’s initiative to continue the judiciary reform, and expresses its readiness to actively cooperate with all the three branches of power for ensuring establishment and maintenance of an independent, fair and effective judiciary system in Georgia.
2013-09-28 04:57 See more