The meeting of the Permanent Parliamentary Council on Open and Transparent Governance and the Consultative Group was held on April 20. At the meeting amendments to the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure required for implementation of the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan commitments were discussed.

Members of the Parliamentary Council and Consultative Group attended the meeting -Representatives of the Parliament of Georgia, Non-Governmental and International Organizations.

The meeting was opened by Member of Parliament – Giorgi Kakhiani and Chairman of Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) – Levan Avalishvili. They highlighted the importance of engagement in the process of Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan implementation.

The meeting continued with the presentation on the updated project of amendments to the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure by IDFI’s Parliamentary Secretary Davit Maisuradze. The amendments are aimed at fulfilling the action plan commitments initiated by IDFI (please, see the action plan). IDFI will present final version of amendments to the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure at the joint meeting of May.

Amendments to the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure were also presented by:

• Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association;
• National Democratic Institute;
• Transparency International – Georgia.

Above-listed organizations will consider received feedback at the meeting and present updated project at the next joint meeting of the Parliamentary Council and the Consultative Group.

The Permanent Parliamentary Council on Open and Transparent Governance was established by the #195/3 Order of the Chairperson of Georgia. Primary functions of the Parliamentary Council is ensuring parliamentary openness, elaborating the Open Parliament Action Plans within the scopes of Open Government Partnership Initiative (OGP) and monitoring their implementation process.

The Consultative Group is composed of non-governmental and international organizations and is tasked with facilitating the work of the Permanent Parliamentary Council on Open and Transparent Governance.

IDFI is currently implementing a UNDP and EU funded project titled “Supporting the Parliament of Georgia in Implementation of the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan”, which aims to assist the Parliamentary Council in implementing the Open Parliament Action Plan. Within the framework of the project, IDFI coordinates the activities of the Council and its Consultative Group.