On August 23, 2013 NGOs working on electoral issues nominated Ms. Tamar Zhvania for the position of the chairperson of the Central Election Commission. Ms. Tamar Zhvania is the manager of the UNDP project: Promoting Credible and Sustainable Electoral Institutions and Processes. Ms. Zhvania has an extensive working experience on election-related responsible positions. For the past five years she has been in charge of UNDP Georgia’s electoral assistance program and supervised EU-UNDP joint project. She has worked on electoral issues abroad, including as international program manager in National Democratic Institute (NDI). Moreover, Ms. Zhvania has been a representative of international observation in different countries as part of the missions of OSCE/ODIHR, NDI and Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. Her electoral engagement starts from 2000 in the civil sector. In the period of 2004- 2007 she was an executive director of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED).
2013-08-26 05:44 See moreFor the past several days the Ministry of Interior held some wide scale police raids in the capital which raised concern of the part of population. Policemen stopped and searched pedestrians and vehicles and inspected private documentation of citizens. As reported, sometimes policemen wrote down personal information of individuals (name, father's name, address, phone number) and took photos of them by mobile phones. We consider that often implemented activities were illegal and violated human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.
2013-08-26 04:47 See moreOn August 12, 2013, Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association held a meeting with local non-governmental organizations and population in its Gori Office to mark the International Youth Day celebrated under the theme of youth migration. During the meeting project Promoting Well Managed Migration between EU and Georgia was also presented.
2013-08-12 05:56 See moreOn July 22, 2013, during a briefing held at the office of the chief prosecutor of Georgia about abuse of funds allocated for purchase of tractors in frames of the program in support of small farmers, it was reported that prosecution did not find any evidence of alleged pressure and threats against the defendant, Mamuka Ivaniadze. It was also stated that M.Ivaniadze willingly testified before the prosecutor while his attorney was not present. The office of the prosecutor released a secret video recording as evidence to corroborate the foregoing statement.
2013-08-06 07:00 See moreGYLA has found that Batumi City Court intends to examine an election complaint pursuant to a general procedure for disputes litigation, rather than examining it within a short timeframe as prescribed by election laws. It essentially violates the spirit of election laws and is harmful to pre-election environment as well as the interests of justice. On July 30, 2013, GYLA and ISFED jointly filed a complaint in Batumi City Court, seeking suspension of spending of GEL 14 million in pre-election period until tabulation of October 27, 2013 presidential election results as these funds have been illegally added to the budget of Adjara A/R.
2013-08-06 05:58 See moreAccording to official reports, on May 13, 2013, 24-year old prisoner Levan Kortava was brutally beaten in Geguti penitentiary establishment, resulting in his death on May 23. Subsequent investigation has uncovered a number of alarming circumstances. According to official reports, on May 12, 2013, Levan Kortava was moved from Rustavi N6 Prison to Geguti N14 Prison. During admission to Geguti Prison he got into a verbal argument with Ilia Shanshashvili, inspector of security department, over provision of psychotropic medication. The latter instructed one of the convicts, Shota Sinauridze to clear up the conflict situation with Levan Kortava, followed by a brutal beating of Kortava by prisoners and his subsequent death from the injuries inflicted.
2013-08-05 06:13 See moreToday GYLA filed against the presidential administration of Georgia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Tbilisi City Hall in Tbilisi City Court over their failure of the authorities to provide access and to provide full access to public information envisaged by the applicable Georgian legislation. GYLA was requesting access to information about all vehicles bought and received as a gift starting from January 1, 2011, dates they were bought/gifted and amounts paid. GYLA was also requesting access to all legal acts that regulate purchase of vehicles in the foregoing state agencies.
2013-08-01 04:15 See moreUnder the presidential order issued on July 30, 2013, convict Tengiz Gunava was granted a pardon and his criminal record was expunged, which has raised certain questions about lawfulness and fairness of the president’s decision. In view of the high public interest, we would like to address some of the key issues involved in the pardoning of Tengiz Gunava. Lawfulness of the presidential order to grant a pardon to T.Gunava from formal/legal point of view Applicable regulation is N277 order of the president of Georgia dated July 19, 2004. Para.2”b”, “e” and “k” of the Order stipulate that pardoning does not apply to a convict if s/he
2013-07-31 11:12 See moreOn July 30, 2013, at 15:00, Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development presented researches in frames of their joint project Georgian and EU Migration CPDD Improving Mechanisms of Migration Control between Georgia and EU.
2013-07-31 05:10 See more