15/11/2023 - 17/11/2023
Tbilisi – The rapporteurs of the Commission conducted a country visit to Georgia and held meetings with stakeholders in the framework of the preparation of three opinions concerning notably the Election Code and the Rules of Procedure of the Georgian Parliament, the Special Investigation and Personal Data Protection Services, and the Anti-Corruption Bureau. These opinions were requested by the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia on 22 September 2023.
All rapporteurs met with the Head of the Georgian delegation to PACE, the parliamentary majority and opposition, as well as with representatives of the international community and civil society. In addition, specific meetings were held, inter alia, with the following interlocutors:
- Secretary of the Central Election Commission, Chairperson of the Legal Issues Committee of the Parliament and the Head of the working group on the revision of the Electoral Code, Parliamentary Secretary of the President of Georgia;
- General Prosecutor, Deputy Public Defender, Heads of the Special Investigation Service, Investigation Quality Monitoring and Analytical Department, and Administrative Department; First Deputy Head of Personal Data Protection Service;
- Deputy Auditor General, Heads of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Service Bureaus, Deputy Head of the Government Administration, Deputy Public Defender.
The relevant draft opinions will be submitted for adoption at the 137th plenary session of the Venice Commission (15-16 December 2023). They are prepared under the Quick Response Mechanism (QRM), in the framework of the EU/CoE joint programme Partnership for Good Governance, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.