PACE Georgia monitors welcome political agreement and call on all political forces to put national interest over those of their individual parties
Following a visit to Tbilisi from 1 to 3 June 2021, the co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Georgia, Titus Corlăţean (Romania, SOC) and Claude Kern (France, ALDE), have welcomed the political agreement mediated by European Council President Charles Michel that was signed by most political forces in Georgia.
“This agreement covers several important areas that we have been following closely in the context of the Assembly’s monitoring procedure. If implemented fully, and in good faith, this agreement could signify a considerable step forward in the country’s democratic consolidation. All political parties should therefore join efforts to implement this agreement, and those that have not done so should sign it without delay. Georgia is at a crossroads. We urge all political forces and stakeholders to place the national interest, and the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration project, above the interest and strategies of their parties and personalities,” underlined the two co-rapporteurs.
They emphasised the importance of having an impartial and genuinely independent judiciary that has the full trust of Georgian citizens. While welcoming the considerable progress made with reforming the judiciary, the rapporteurs called on the authorities to ensure that the agreed evaluation of the third and fourth waves of judicial reform is based on a truly inclusive process, with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders including civil society. The co-rapporteurs underlined that this evaluation process is also an important opportunity to implement the remaining unaddressed recommendations of the Venice Commission concerning the judiciary, especially as regards the High Council of Justice, whose functioning and low level of public trust remain an obstacle for a genuinely independent judiciary, and a very serious point of concern.
“In this respect we cannot stress enough the importance of a proper selection process for the soon-to-be-vacant non-judge positions on the High Council of Justice. We urge the Georgian parliament to ensure that these candidates are selected in an inclusive, transparent, consensual and merit-based selection process, and to ensure that these persons have support among the stakeholders and political forces that is as wide as possible. This is essential for their legitimacy and the public trust in this important judicial institution,” said the co-rapporteurs.
With regard to the selection of the Supreme Court Judges, the rapporteurs welcomed that practically all recommendations of the Venice Commission with regard to the selection process have now been adopted by the Georgian parliament. However, they regretted that the selection process begun prior to the adoption of these amendments was maintained and not restarted from the beginning, as recommended. “The onus is now on the High Council of Justice to ensure an inclusive, transparent and merit-based selection process in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission. The candidates should be selected by a broad consensus and have the full trust of the relevant stakeholders. This is essential for judicial independence. Corporatist self-interest should not be allowed to prevail in this respect,” underscored the co-rapporteurs.
The co-rapporteurs also expressed their concern at the recent controversial amendments to the Law on Administrative Offences. They underscored that this Law is a highly deficient Soviet-era code, whose provisions raise questions about proportionality and respect for due process, and several of which have been declared unconstitutional by Georgia’s Constitutional Court. The rapporteurs therefore reiterated their recommendation that a completely new Law on Administrative Offences be drafted, in close consultation with the Venice Commission to ensure that it fully adheres to the highest international standards and norms. They welcomed the clearly expressed political will of the authorities to draft such a new law and expressed their hope that the new parliament would now start the drafting process without delay.
The co-rapporteurs noted the increased importance and attention given to the forthcoming local elections in Georgia as a result of the Michel Agreement. They urged all political forces to ensure that these elections are conducted in a genuinely democratic manner, in line with both the letter and the spirit of the electoral legislation, as well as international standards for democratic elections. The co-rapporteurs welcomed the overall inclusive and consensual manner in which the amendments to the Electoral Code set out in the Michel Agreement were drafted by the parliamentary working group. They called on all political forces to fully implement all recommendations in the forthcoming Venice Commission opinion on these amendments, and to wait with their adoption until after this opinion has been received. Lastly, they expressed their hope that, despite the heightened national political interest in these elections, their relevance for the strengthening of local government and democracy would not be overlooked.
The rapporteurs expressed their deep concern about the humanitarian and human rights situation in the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, including from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. They welcomed the efforts of the Georgian authorities to alleviate this situation and deeply regretted that such efforts were hindered by restrictions imposed by the de facto “authorities” on freedom of movement for civilians and representatives of international organisations between these regions and the rest of the country. In the interest of the populations concerned, the co-rapporteurs therefore reiterated their call on the de facto “authorities”, and the Russian Federation as the country exercising effective control, to lift these restrictions without delay.
The co-rapporteurs intend to visit Georgia again following the local elections, with a view to presenting their report on Georgia’s honouring of its Council of Europe obligations and commitments to the Parliamentary Assembly in the spring of 2022.
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Prime Minister of Georgia meets Co-Rapporteurs for the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The key directions of cooperation between Georgia and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the agenda of Georgia’s ongoing and implemented democratic reforms were the main topics discussed at today’s meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Co-Rapporteurs for the Monitoring Committee of PACE.
In the meeting held at the Government Administration, special emphasis was placed on the constructive work of the PACE Monitoring Committee’s Co-Rapporteurs for the monitoring of Georgia. The Head of Government thanked the Parliamentary Assembly’s delegation for productive cooperation.The conversation also touched on the security environment and challenges in the region and worldwide.The topics discussed included the situation in Georgia’s occupied territories. The role of support from the Council of Europe for peaceful conflict resolution was underlined. Irakli Garibashvili thanked PACE for firmly supporting Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.The meeting was attended by Co-Rapporteurs for the PACE Monitoring Committee Claude Kern and Edite Estrela, also by Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia Natalia Voutova, Georgia’s Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili, and Head of the Government Administration Revaz Javelidze. -
THE PARLIAMENT HEARD THE ACTIVITY REPORT FOR 2022 OF THE PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO PACE
At the plenary session, MPs heard the Activity Report for 2022 of the Parliamentary Delegation to PACE, introduced by the Head of the Delegation, Irakli Chikovani.
“One of the acute issues for the PACE and for us was the devastation in Ukraine entailed by the Russian aggression and the decision made on the exclusion of Russia from the Coe and the preparation for a new Summit that is scheduled in May 2023 and that shall be dedicated to the planning of the further steps of the organization”, - he stated.
According to him, the Georgian Delegation was one of the main Delegations that approved the exclusion of Russia at the emergency session convened by the CoE. As noted, sundry resolutions have been adopted in 2022 related to the situation in Ukraine, where the Georgian Delegation in full composition, including the Majority and the Opposition MPs, unanimously approved the documents except one resolution providing the record about the third President of Georgia.
“This Resolution was connected neither to Georgia nor the situation in Georgia or the democratic reforms; it was an attempt, which by the way was quite successfully conducted by the EPP members and the rapporteur of the Resolution”, - he noted and added that the Resolution on Georgia initiated by the Monitoring Committee and adopted by the PACE reflects the immense progress achieved by Georgia in the democracy, rule of law and human rights protection directions.
“This progress is clearly underlined and which is unambiguously confirmed by the CoE as a whole, though it also provides the challenges in Georgia being addressed by the Government”, - the reporter ended his speech.
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MEETING OF MAKA BOTCHORISHVILI AND IRAKLI CHIKOVANI WITH FRENCH SENATORS
The Georgian MPs informed the French senators about the relations between Georgia and the European Union and the current situation in the occupied regions of the country.
The Chair of the EU Integration Committee, Maka Botchorishvili, and the Head of the Permanent Delegation of Georgia to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Irakli Chikovani met with members of the European Affairs Committee in the Senate of the French Republic.The session was chaired by the Chair of the European Affairs Committee of the Senate, Jean-François Rapin.
Maka Botchorishvili dwelt on Georgia's priorities, the dynamics of relations with the European Union, and the role of EU enlargement in terms of ensuring security in the region.
The parties also focused on Georgia-EU relations and the progress achieved in the process of EU integration.
Irakli Chikovani drew attention to the situation in the occupied territories of Georgia.
The parties attached special attention to the security challenges in the region and the importance of the EU integration process.
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2023 Winter session: the legal and human rights aspects of Russia's aggression against Ukraine
An urgent debate* on the legal and human rights aspects of the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine, with the participation of Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties, 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will be among the highlights of the Winter plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), to be held in Strasbourg from 23 to 27 January 2023.
#OnTheRoadToReykjavik, a report on the fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe, to be held in the Icelandic capital on 16 and 17 May, will present PACE's proposals.
There will also be addresses by the Prime Minister of Iceland Katrin Jakobsdóttir and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić will present her communication to PACE members. The Assembly will also elect its President and Vice-Presidents.
Combating violence against women will also be a focus of the session, with a first debate on conflict-related sexual violence, and a second joint debate on the Istanbul Convention, on the role and responsibility of men and boys in stopping gender-based violence against women and girls, and on finding solutions for marital captivity.
Other topics on the agenda include the environmental impact of armed conflict, Daesh foreign fighters and their families returning from Syria and elsewhere, and the ethical, cultural and educational challenges of contact tracing applications.
* The Assembly will decide its final agenda at the opening of the session.
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THE GEORGIAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO NATO PA HOLDS BILATERAL MEETINGS IN MADRID
The Parliamentary Delegation, headed by the Chair of the Defense and Security Committee, Irakli Beraia held the bilateral meetings within the NATO PA sessions.
According to the administration of the Parliament of Georgia, Georgian MPs met with the representatives of Sweden, Finland, Turkey and Estonia and dwelt on the regional security and security challenges of Georgia, the Russian war against Ukraine, the Russian occupation and its consequences, as well as the conventional and hybrid threats that Georgia encounters.
Georgian MPs underlined the necessity of Georgia’s NATO integration and the acceleration of this decision emphasizing the necessity to further enhance the countering the security and hybrid threats for the national defense of Georgia.
According to I. Beraia, providing the drastically aggravated security milieu, the partners well realize the importance of Georgia’s membership, which makes Georgia optimistic.
“The NATO allies can make a brave decision in case of their political will and it is a good signal for us that Georgia’s NATO membership can be accelerated, which is the ultimate goal we look forward since the value-based choice of the Georgian citizens is to become a NATO member. We dwelt on the value of Georgia for NATO against the background of the increased threats in the region. We stressed that Georgia has not only the will but the capacity and experience to contribute to NATO security. When our partners aspire to diversify the energy resources and enhance the connection between the East and West, it increases the role of Georgia as a NATO member state. The partners strongly support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country and pledged to further support us in all the formats and at all international platforms and in international organizations”, - I. Beraia stated.
The parties touched upon bilateral relations, Parliamentary cooperation and exchange visits.
The Georgian Delegation is composed of the First Deputy Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, Giorgi Khelashvili and the Deputy Chairs of the Defense Committee, Vladimir Chachibaia and Teona Akubardia.
