Blog Post

21 February 2019

Selection of Supreme Court Judges: Public Knowledge & Attitudes About the Process

On December 24^th, 2018, High Council of Justice (HCoJ) of Georgia nominated ten candidates to the country’s Supreme Court. The nomination caused controversy among the representatives of civil society organizations as the nominated judges were either leaders or close associates of a group of judges (so called “clan”) exercising an informal power over Georgia’s judiciary.

30 August 2018

Prosecution Service on the Verge of Changes: Way to Improve Existing Challenges in the System

The case of Khorava street murders has yet again initiated discussions about the necessity of changes in the Georgian justice system. The recent rallies were not just a mere protest against the improper investigation of the murder of two schoolchildren, but clearly demonstrated the long-standing public dissatisfaction and mistrust towards the existing justice system, and the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia in particular.

9 March 2018

The Constitutional Court did not Disclose Information about the Judge's Disciplinary Proceedings

On July 31, 2017, IDFI applied to the Constitutional Court to issue public information. In particular, IDFI requested to receive a copy of conclusion of the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission of Constitutional Court concerning the disciplinary proceedings against the judge Merab Turava launched on September 6, 2015. On September 25, 2017, our organization also applied to the Constitutional Court and requested information whether there were ongoing disciplinary cases against judges, which had not yet been decided.

4 December 2017

Getting Serious (and Technical) About Procurement Corruption: The Transparent Public Procurement Rating Project

For corruption fighters, public procurement is notable for two reasons. One, it is damnably complex. Two, it is often permeated with corrupt deals. The latter makes it a critical target of anticorruption policy, the former a tough nut to crack. The thicket of laws, regulations, standard bidding documents, and practices that govern procurement means civil society groups advocating counter corruption measures are often at sea. Lacking expertise on this bewildering set of rules, they can do little more than campaign in general terms for reform, urging steps like “greater transparency” or “tougher penalties” for corrupt activities.

30 November 2017

Overview of the decision made by the Strasbourg Court on Merabishvili's Case

On 14 June 2016, the European Court of Human Rights made a decision on the case of former Interior Minister and Prime Minister of Georgia Ivane Merabishvili. The Court found a violation of two Articles of the Convention by the State of Georgia.

10 October 2017

Tbilisi City Assembly Parking Fines Point to Ineffectiveness of the Parking System

The number of fines issued on vehicles belonging to the Tbilisi City Council over the past 7 years shows that the existing parking system has failed to regulate parking even just outside the Council building.

4 July 2017

Public Holidays in Europe and Georgia

A draft law prepared by the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory proposes reducing the number of public holidays in Ukraine from 11 to 9. The draft law proposes altogether cancelling public celebration of May 1-2, substituting March 8 with March 9 (Shevchenko Day), May 9 with May 8 (day of memory and reconciliation), and the first Monday afterPentecost with the day of the family in September.

15 June 2017

Why are Sustainable Development Goals Important?

One of the frequent questions about the SDGs – why we need one more framework when there are international conventions, national level policies and strategies that address issues targeted in the 2030 Agenda.

17 March 2017

Russia’s Soft and Hard Power in Georgia

Russian Propaganda is still a prominent topic in Georgia as well as on the international scene. The eminence is all the more striking as Russian interference in US elections, which most probably had an influence on election results, was confirmed. European countries now fully understand the threats of Russian information operations and are trying to take appropriate measures against them.

28 February 2017

Georgia’s Chairmanship of OGP: Advancing the Global, Regional and National Open Government Agenda

n May 2016, Georgia was elected as a co-chair of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Steering Committee before taking over as a Lead Chair in 2017. The fact that 18 of the Steering Committee member countries supported Georgia was a clear expression of appreciation of Georgia’s achievements and reforms initiated and implemented as an OGP member as well as its future plans.