Rule of Law, Human Rights and Freedom of Media

30 March 2018

Access to Public Information in Georgia-2017 Report

Within the framework of monitoring conducted by IDFI in 2010-2017 a total of45 310Freedom of Information (FOI) requests were sent to public institutions, and 37 511 replies were received.

28 March 2018

In 2017-2018 the Rule of Law Situation in Georgia has Worsened in Georgia

The goal of the comparative analysis prepared by IDFI is to review the results of Georgia from 2012 to-date based on the data provided by the World Justice Project, ascertain progress or lack thereof in certain directions and compare the result of Georgia to Eastern European and Central Asian countries.

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.

12 January 2018

Procedures of Asylum Denial in Georgia are not Transparent

IDFI presents statistical analysis of court decisions received from 1 January 2017 to September 1 2017 on granting refugee or humanitarian status, as well as reviewing existing legislation and international practice. The recommendations of IDFI are presented at the end of the report to solve the identified problematic issues.

20 December 2017

IDFI Weighs in on the Constitutional Claim of Giorgi Mamaladze and His Lawyers

Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) submitted an amicus curiae (friend of the court) observation on the constitutional claim "Citizens of Georgia -Giorgi Mamaladze, Giorgi Pantsulaia and Maia Zoidze vs. Georgian Parliament" prepared by the Constitutional Law Clinic of Free University of Tbilisi.

17 November 2017

Georgia: Civil Society Parallel Assessment of Compliance with Sustainable Development Goal Indicator 16.10.2

Based on the methodology developed by the Freedom of Information Advocates Network (FOIAnet) IDFI evaluated to what extent Sustainable Development Goal Indicator 16.10.2 is being implemented in Georgia. SDG indicator 16.10.2 stipulates that states should adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information. Please find results of the evaluation in full report.

27 September 2017

10th International Conference of Information Commissioners

Manchester hosted the 10th International Conference of Information Commissioners, which focused on the problem of accountability and transparency of non-state public service providers. This is a significant problem in Georgia as well. One mechanism for solving this problem would be the adoption of a new Law on Freedom of Information.

14 September 2017

Regulating Secrete Surveillance in Georgia (January-August, 2017)

IDFI report includes statistics on cases of secrete surveillance in Georgia, updates on ongoing legislative processes and different positions of civil society and the government on this matter.

1 September 2017

Regulating Inadmissible Internet Content – Georgia in Need of Legal Changes

Parallel to the unprecedented growth of the Internet’s importance in contemporary democratic societies, it is all the more pressing to determine the rules of engagement in this medium. The goal of such regulations is, on the one hand, not to restrict or hamper the use of the Internet and, on the other hand, to protect the interests that in certain cases contradicts freedom of expression.

7 August 2017

Court Directs Ministry of Internal Affairs to Retract Information Defaming Giorgi Kldiashvili

On December 12, 2014, the Director of IDFI Giorgi Kldiashvili was arrested by the Department of Central Criminal Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia, on charges of illicit carrying of firearms (Art. 236.2 of the Criminal Code) and was taken to a pre-detention cell where he was kept for three days. On December 14, Giorgi Kldiashvili was released from the courtroom on bail, and his detention was declared illegal.