The trials of the participants of students’ manifestation on the International Workers’ Day, who were arrested on May 1, 2013 and charged with administrative offences, concluded in Tbilisi City Court. The police arrested participants after they relocated to Rustaveli Avenue 8-10 minutes before the rally ended. The Interior Ministry charged 37 protesters with administrative offences and submitted them to the court. GYLA defended 32 of the protesters in court. Some of the First Instance Court’s rulings has been appealed in the Appellate Court, which has not yet delivered its final decisions. Therefore, the present analysis covers results of the first instance court trials.
2013-06-13 04:17 See moreOn June 5, 2013, the Prevention and Monitoring Department of the Public Defender’s office in cooperation with Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association carried out monitoring of the penitentiary establishment N9 where former law enforcement officers and ex-officials are held. We welcome the fact that virtually all prisoners have testified to normal treatment in prison; they have also stated that administration and employees of the penitentiary facility are trying their best to fulfill their legitimate demands. The monitoring has revealed that defendants/convicts do not have access to TV, except for some inmates including Bachana Akhalaia. It was basically the key issue that defendants/convicts expressed their concern about.
2013-06-12 08:16 See moreGeorgian Young Lawyers’ Association reacts to the draft law initiated by the Government of Georgia for amending the law of Georgia on Higher Education. First and foremost, we would like to highlight procedural problems related to submission of the draft law to the parliament and its consideration. We believe that amendments of similar important should not have been initiated without consulting with stakeholders, including academic personnel of higher education institutions; further, the decision of expedited review of the draft law made by the parliament of Georgia is utterly unacceptable. As of now, no substantiation whatsoever has been cited to illustrate the necessity of making the decision in expedited manner. Under the circumstances, expedited review and adoption of the proposed draft will prove damaging to public interests as it will exclude any public involvement and participation in the process of designing the law.
2013-06-12 08:11 See moreThe Coalition for and Independent and Transparent Judiciary has released an open letter to Mr. Davit Usupashvili, the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, regarding pending amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia.
2013-06-12 08:05 See moreWith its today’s decision, the Constitutional Court granted GYLA’s constitutional claim filed on behalf of Piruz Vanievi of the village of Khurvaleti, Gori District, and Tristan Mamagulashvili of the village of Dvani, Kareli District. Located in Kareli and Gori districts, their houses were outside the boundries of the territory recognized as occupied by the Georgian authorities. Nevertheless, Tristan Mamagualshvili and Piruz Vanievi could not return to places of their habitual residence and to make use of their property. Following the Russian-Georgian war in 2008 the Government of Georgia lost control of the part of Dvani and Khurvaleti where Vanievi’s and Mamagulashvili’s houses are located.
2013-06-11 05:07 See moreTransparency International – Georgia, Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, Georgian Lawyers for Independent Profession and the Human Rights Center react to the 10th extraordinary meeting of the Conference of Judges.
2013-06-10 03:35 See moreBeneficiaries of GYLA’s legal aid were not imposed with administrative liability Lawyer from GYLA’s office in Tbilisi provided a legal assistance to beneficiaries, as a result of which under the decision of Tbilisi City Court’s Board of Administrative cases, the following individuals arrested on May 1, 2013, rally were not imposed with administrative punishment for offences envisaged by the Code of Administrative Offences (petty hooliganism – Article 166, disobeydience to lawful orders of the police – Article 173): A.K., L.A., G.G., M.G., G.K., and L.A. Instead, three of them got off with a verbal warning, while administrative proceedings brought against the remaining three were terminated, as no administrative violation was found.
2013-06-10 02:34 See moreOn June 7, 2013, GYLA presented "Monitoring of the Introduction of Personal Data Filing System in Georgian Ministries," which details the results of its research into Georgian Ministries’ data filing systems. The report examines the progress of Georgian Ministries in implementing personal data filing systems, as stipulated by the Personal Data Protection Legislation of Georgia.
2013-06-07 04:44 See moreGYLA would like to highlight the importance of the June 9th Judicial Conference for the continued development of an independent judiciary in Georgia. This opportunity was created by mitigating the political influence on the judiciary after elections, as well as by the will of state authorities reflected in amendments to the Organic Law of Georgia on Common Courts. Civil society, including GYLA, supported the process from the beginning. We are observing the current developments and out of concern would like to review the amendments to the new law, which have generated much discussion over the past few days.
2013-06-05 09:30 See moreJob title: Project coordinator/ Head of Georgian Media Legal Defense Center Requirements
2013-06-05 03:24 See more