Promotion of transparency and accountability remains to be one of the key directions of GYLA’s activities. In this respect, GYLA continued its work in frames of the project Promotion of Accountability and Transparency in Georgia, funded by the Open Society Institute (OSI). The project was implemented with the involvement of GYLA’s central office as well as its offices in Kutaisi and Adjara.
In 2011 there were several noteworthy activities undertaken under the project auspices, in particular:
1. Strategic litigation for freedom of information
In frames of the project GYLA actively continued strategic litigation for freedom of information, requesting information from various public agencies and when they failed to provide public information pursuant to the law GYLA resorted to administrative proceedings and filed claims.
Total of 160 applications requesting public information were addressed to various public agencies throughout 2011, including
- 104 claims granted fully
- 18 claims granted in part
- 38 claims rejected.
Total of 38 administrative applications in different administrative agencies, including
- 8 applications granted fully
- 13 rejected
- 4 granted in part
- Proceedings were terminated in 4
- 9 were never examined
GYLA filed total of 36 complaints in court, including
- 4 granted fully
- 1 granted in part
- 17 rejected
- 14 pending
2. Promoting effective, accountable and transparent governance
Promoting effective governance remains to be one of the key priorities for GYLA, which is impossible to achieve without accountable and transparent government and informed citizens. Therefore, in 2011 GYLA prepared the following four reports:
- Freedom of Information in Georgia, Analysis of Judicial Practice
- Freedom of Information – line between legitimate interference and public interest
- Monitoring of works carried out in support of IDPs
- Issuing consent for street vending on the territory of Tbilisi
GYLA’s public information database
In 2011 GYLA’s public information database was set up. The database includes GYLA’s applications requesting public information, filed with different agencies as well as subsequent responses.
Presentation of the database was held on the International Right to Know day and has been available to broader public ever since.
2012
Strategic litigation for freedom of information is continued in 2012 under the project auspices. Further, GYLA prepared the following two researches in 2012 for the promotion of effective, accountable and transparent governance:
- Construction of the Parliament of Georgia in Kutaisi
- The Process of Rehabilitation Beyond the Façade
