The Supreme Council of Ajara (SCA) started fulfilment of its obligations in accordance to the 2020-2021 Open Governance Action Plan.

On December 25, 2020, the SCA approved amendments to the Rules of Procedure. According to the amendments the legal institute of petition in the Supreme Council of Ajara has been established. The submission of a petition is important for citizen engagement in the decision-making process and the implementation of the open governance principles. The submission of the electronic and written petitions is envisaged by the Fourth Commitment of the 2020-2021Open Governance Action Plan of the SCA. Citizens will be able to submit written petitionsto SCA regarding state and/or public issues from May 1, 2021. After collecting 200 signatures, and based on the request from the author of the petition, the Chairpeson of the SCA will be able to present the petition to the Bureau of the SCA. The enactment of the electronic petition will be stipulated from the January 1, 2022.

Another amendment to theRules of Procedure envisages the requirementfor the committees of the SCA to develop action plans. The development and publication of the committees’ action plans is incorporated in the 13th Commitment of the Open Governance Action Plan. The adoption of the committees’ action plans will raise the awareness of the public about the oversight and legislative activities of the committees. Execution of this commitment ensures the involvement of civil sector in the development of committees’ action plans, which will increase committees’ accountability and transparency.

The 2020-2021 Open Governance Action Plan of the Supreme Council of Ajara was developed within the framework of the EU-UNDP project “Consolidating Parliamentary Democracy in Georgia”. The project is closely cooperating with the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), to promote Open Governance Principles at the Parliament of Georgia and the Supreme Council of Ajara (SCA).