International Anti-Corruption Day is observed annually on December 9. Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association traditionally marked the day by holding a presentation of the monitoring report Freedom of Infoprmation in Georgia – 2011 in frames of the human rights series. The report was prepared by GYLA’s monitoring group that conducted the research in 40 administrative agencies in Georgia, covering analysis of practice in the office of the parliament, correspondence offices of ministries, Government Chancellary, President’s Administration, the judicial system, the CEC, the National Bank, independent commissions, offices of self-governing cities and city hall administrations.
2012-12-09 01:26 See moreGYLA’s Georgian Media Legal Defense Center held a press conference on media-related issues on December 6, 2012. Further, it provided information to Chief Prosecutor Archil Kbilashvili about illegal actions perpetrated against media representatives. Throughout the recent years there have been important violations committed against media representatives in Georgia. Frequently journalists were deprived of the opportunity to freely pursue their activities; their own equipment and personal safety was frequently at risk. GYLA’s Georgian Media Legal Defense Center has reported a number of similar facts.
2012-12-06 01:08 See moreTV Company Channel 9 launched cable broadcasting at the end of April, this year. The Channel is owned by Eka Khvedelidze, the Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili’s wife (80%) and his nephew (20%). The television was established in a short period of time with well-paid journalists working there. It was well-known that the only donor of the television was the Ivanishvilis family. According to the information submitted by the National Communications’ Commission, income of the television from advertisement and other sources is meager (in the period of May-August, 2012 the reported income from advertisement comprised GEL 177, 365). In view of this, from the day of its opening, Channel 9 was not financially stable and depended completely on its owner’s funding.
2012-12-06 01:06 See moreThe Coalition believes that the legislative proposal prepared by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia (MOJ) about photography, video recording, filming and audio recording in courtroom reflects the spirit of members of the Coalition about an issue that we believe to be of vital importance. We’d like to highlight that to ensure judicial transparency we had been conducting negotiations with the High Council of Justice (HCJ) and members of previous parliament but the negotiations had been unsuccessful.
2012-12-05 05:04 See moreGeorgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) responds to the developments in the village of Tsintskaro, Tetritskaro District, and reminds the state and the law enforcement authorities in particular about the obligation to protect freedom of religion, and calls them to interfere in the current confrontation between the Christian and the Muslim population; including by means of instituting criminal prosecution where appropriate, as well as undertaking preventive measures by the police to ensure safety of the Muslim population. GYLA is particularly concerned by the statement of MP Viktor Japaridze released in relation to the Tsintskaro Conflict by Kakheti Information Center.
2012-12-05 05:02 See moreGeorgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) will present its Annual Activities Report 2012. Throughout the reporting period we provided assistance to more than 100 individuals and actively participated in ongoing developments in the country, legal drafting and election processes; implementation of reforms and training of students, in particular:
2012-11-24 05:13 See moreOn November 22, 2012, Merab Ratishvili released a statement addressed to the Human Rights Committee and members of the working group. He is requesting his name be removed from the list of political prisoners and his case be reassessed separately. Further, Ratishvili has also applied the Human Rights Center, Article 42 of the Constitution and Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association with a request to raise his case separately before the Human Rights Committee for its consideration.
2012-11-23 05:12 See moreOn October 21, 2012, the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) concluded its administrative proceedings over claim filed by GYLA. In its decision, the GNCC explained procedures for broadcasting public service announcement, ordered the Public Broadcaster to examine the September 28, 2012 application of GYLA and issued warning against the broadcaster in the form of a sanction.
2012-11-23 05:11 See moreOn November 20, 2012, Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association held a presentation of the research Mechanisms for Early Release and Reprieve of Convicts for Health Problems in Georgia. Purpose of the research was to offer an overview of the applicable legal base and identify legislative problems that result (or may result in) obstruction of the work of the permanent commussion and court for effective, timely, comprehensive and objective examination of applications of convicts ill with grave and terminal diseases. Further, authors of the research sought to illustrate problems in practice of the commission and court by citing concrete examples and offering an overview of applicable ECHR case law. The research is based on the analysis of 23 cases litigated by GYLA, Article 42 of the Constitution, the Youth for Justice and independent lawyers. When analyzing the cases from medical point of view, GYLA closely cooperated with the Medical Association of Georgia. The research revealed a number of flaws and deficiencies in legislation and practice, including
2012-11-20 12:46 See moreInternational Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, Transparency International and the Article 42 of the Constitution express extreme concern over frequent acts of pressure on local self-government agencies. Post-election observation has made it clear members and employees of Sakrebulo were subjected to pressure at various occasions and in various forms, including representatives of in Marneuli, Samtredia, Poti municipalities, whereas on November 12-13, pressure on representatives of Tetritskaro and Tsalka municipalities grew into clearly illegal and violent acts. We believe that local self-government amounts to the right and the opportunity of Georgian citizens to regulate and manage issues of local importance independently, through local self-government agencies and pursuant to applicable law, with their own responsibility and for the good of the local population. Therefore, any interference in the work of local self-governments and pressure on them, hindering or obstructing their normal functioning is alarming.
2012-11-19 08:36 See more