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GYLA ADDRESSES THE CHIEF PROSECUTOR TO INVOLVE INTERESTED PERSONS IN THE PROCESS OF REORGANIZATION OF THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE

2018-09-04 11:49
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By the decision of the Chief Prosecutor Shalva Tadumadze, the reorganization has been announced in the Chief Prosecutor's Office of Georgia, which implies implementation of planned changes within the structural units of the Prosecutor's Office, certification of prosecutors working at leading positions and development of a multi-component assessment system.

The major challenge which the Prosecution system faces at the organizational level is a strictly centralized structure of the Prosecutor's Office. The centralized system, existing procedure of appointment and removal of employees of the Prosecutor's Office, individual prosecutors lacking the guarantees for carrying out neutral and unbiased activities and other similar issues are the major obstacles to depoliticizing of the Prosecutor's Office.

Introduction of limited amendments within the internal structural system is not sufficient to cause real changes in the activities of the Prosecutor's Office. Only internal organizational changes and arbitrary implementation of these changes by the Chief Prosecutor will not be beneficial for the country and the wider society and may not serve the purpose of depoliticizing of the Prosecutor's Office and raising public confidence into it.

In order to implement real changes, the prosecution system must be reorganized in the sense of a broader reform that will entail necessary legislative amendments and ensure the planning and implementation of the reform with the involvement of all interested persons, including civil society organizations.

According to the amendments made to the Constitution of Georgia, since November 2018 the system of the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia shall be established as an independent body which will no longer be supervised by the Ministry of Justice. Based on the constitutional amendments, the Parliament of Georgia is elaborating the amendments to the Law of Georgia “On the Prosecutor's Office”, which will substantially change the system of the Prosecution Service. The list of roles of the Prosecutorial Council also needs revision. Organizational changes into the Prosecutor's Office should be based on current legislative amendments.

The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association calls on the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia to:

1. Ensure the openness and transparency of the reorganization process, involve interested persons and make decisions based on the results of discussions from the planning through implementation stages of the process;

2. Plan the organizational changes with the view to increasing the guarantees of independence of the prosecution system and neutrality of individual prosecutors within the framework of the ongoing legislative reform in the system of the Prosecutor's Office.

GYLA declares its readiness and commitment to actively engage in the activities to ensure the independence of the system of the Prosecutor's Office and facilitate the process of implementing real reforms in the Prosecutor's Office.