The News in Brief
Tuesday, December 11
Patriarch hopes people will hold “first female president’s” inauguration with dignity
His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia hopes that Georgian people will meet with the inauguration with dignity. The Patriarch stated about it during his Sunday sermon at Trinity Cathedral.
“The President’s inauguration is taking place next Sunday. I think that our people will meet this celebration with dignity. This is the first time when a woman is elected as a president, " the Patriarch said.
The inauguration of the President-elect will be held on December 16 in Telavi.
(IPN)
Parliament Endorses New Rules of Procedure
On December 6, the Parliament of Georgia endorsed with 77 votes in favor and two against its new Rules of Procedure. The document is in line with the new Constitution, which is to enter into force upon President-elect Salome Zurabishvili’s inauguration on December 16.
MPs from the European Georgia, the United National Movement and the Alliance of Patriots did not participate in the process. Two Georgian Dream lawmakers voted against.
According to the explanatory note of the new Rules of Procedure, the key objective of the document is “to form the Parliament into a strong institution characteristic for a parliamentary system of governance.”
“The current Rules of Procedure have demonstrated a number of shortcomings in terms of legislative and oversight processes; the norms are tailored to rapid law-making that fails to ensure high-quality work of the Parliament,” reads the explanatory note.
Like the previous one, the new Rules of Procedure document sets out regulations for the work of the legislature and its bodies, as well as its relations with other branches of government. According to the explanatory note, one of the main purposes of the new Rules of Procedures is to strengthen the Parliament’s oversight function.
Under the new Rules of Procedure, Kutaisi will no longer be the parliamentary seat, and both – plenary and committee hearings – will be held in the Parliament building in Tbilisi. The legislature will be able to hold sittings outside Tbilisi only under martial law or state of emergency.
Under the new regulations, the Prime Minister has to present an annual report on the implementation of the government program during the last month of plenary sittings of the Spring Session, in June.
The Parliament, at the request of a committee or a faction, will be able to summon government members and other officials accountable to the legislature (prosecutor general, head of the state security service) to plenary sittings with a majority vote, but with no less than 1/3 of the Parliament members, instead of the previous 1/5.
A group of no less than seven lawmakers (down from the previous ten) will have the right to address the Government of Georgia and other agencies accountable to the Parliament with a written question. The addressee will have to appear before the Parliament to give its response (four times a year – in March, May, September, November).
A parliamentary committee enjoys the right to summon officials as well. An official can be invited to committee hearings by the majority of its members or an individual faction. The latter has the right to invite officials only if it has a member seating in the committee. See the criticism of this provision below.
There are new rules for holding political debates. If previously, fractions, majority and minority groups had the right to request political debates, the debates will now have to be requested by at least 1/5 of the Parliament members.
The Parliament’s new Rules of Procedure will enter into force from January 1, 2019.
(Civil.ge)
His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia hopes that Georgian people will meet with the inauguration with dignity. The Patriarch stated about it during his Sunday sermon at Trinity Cathedral.
“The President’s inauguration is taking place next Sunday. I think that our people will meet this celebration with dignity. This is the first time when a woman is elected as a president, " the Patriarch said.
The inauguration of the President-elect will be held on December 16 in Telavi.
(IPN)
Parliament Endorses New Rules of Procedure
On December 6, the Parliament of Georgia endorsed with 77 votes in favor and two against its new Rules of Procedure. The document is in line with the new Constitution, which is to enter into force upon President-elect Salome Zurabishvili’s inauguration on December 16.
MPs from the European Georgia, the United National Movement and the Alliance of Patriots did not participate in the process. Two Georgian Dream lawmakers voted against.
According to the explanatory note of the new Rules of Procedure, the key objective of the document is “to form the Parliament into a strong institution characteristic for a parliamentary system of governance.”
“The current Rules of Procedure have demonstrated a number of shortcomings in terms of legislative and oversight processes; the norms are tailored to rapid law-making that fails to ensure high-quality work of the Parliament,” reads the explanatory note.
Like the previous one, the new Rules of Procedure document sets out regulations for the work of the legislature and its bodies, as well as its relations with other branches of government. According to the explanatory note, one of the main purposes of the new Rules of Procedures is to strengthen the Parliament’s oversight function.
Under the new Rules of Procedure, Kutaisi will no longer be the parliamentary seat, and both – plenary and committee hearings – will be held in the Parliament building in Tbilisi. The legislature will be able to hold sittings outside Tbilisi only under martial law or state of emergency.
Under the new regulations, the Prime Minister has to present an annual report on the implementation of the government program during the last month of plenary sittings of the Spring Session, in June.
The Parliament, at the request of a committee or a faction, will be able to summon government members and other officials accountable to the legislature (prosecutor general, head of the state security service) to plenary sittings with a majority vote, but with no less than 1/3 of the Parliament members, instead of the previous 1/5.
A group of no less than seven lawmakers (down from the previous ten) will have the right to address the Government of Georgia and other agencies accountable to the Parliament with a written question. The addressee will have to appear before the Parliament to give its response (four times a year – in March, May, September, November).
A parliamentary committee enjoys the right to summon officials as well. An official can be invited to committee hearings by the majority of its members or an individual faction. The latter has the right to invite officials only if it has a member seating in the committee. See the criticism of this provision below.
There are new rules for holding political debates. If previously, fractions, majority and minority groups had the right to request political debates, the debates will now have to be requested by at least 1/5 of the Parliament members.
The Parliament’s new Rules of Procedure will enter into force from January 1, 2019.
(Civil.ge)