Minister of Justice, NGOs speak out about dangers of non-electronic IDs

The Constitutional Court of Georgia approved the issuance of non-electronic IDs. The IDs won’t have ‘chips’ in them as some claim is against their religion.

Part of the Georgian citizens has been demanding the issuance of non-electronic IDs for years, which the Government opposed with several arguments, including the issue of election fraud.

“I don’t know anymore what the Ministry of Justice can do to convince these people who own paper IDs that their identities can easily be falsified. Their property can be transferred without their knowledge. Also, if there is a corrupt government in power, there is a risk that someone might be deprived of their right to vote,” addressed the Minister of Justice of Georgia Tea Tsulukiani in March of this year to 400,000 people who have paper IDs and urged them to order biometric ID cards.

Electronic ID cards are issued in Georgia since August 1, 2011. The document contains an electronic ‘chip’ containing an electronic copy of the data visualized on the card. The card is also equipped with online authentication and digital signature tools that the cardholder can use at their will. The electronic IDs are issued in accordance with the rules set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and can be used not only domestically but also as a travel document abroad.

However, a part of the Georgian population thinks that the ‘chips’ on the electronic ID cards can be used for total control of the people and is related to the apocalyptic foretelling of the Bible.

On December 26, the Constitutional Court of Georgia has accepted to consider the constitutional lawsuit of Nana Sepiashvili and Ia Rekhviashvili against the Parliament and Minister of Justice, which concerns the rule of issuing IDs and biometric passports, which does not allow the documents to be received non-electronically without the ‘chip’.

The Court has pointed out that in the context of the disputed norms, persons who refuse to obtain identity cards on religious grounds have limited right to vote, access to medical care, employment, education, etc. Accordingly, the Constitutional Court suspended the statutory content of the disputed norms prior to reaching the final ruling on the case, which prevents the issuance of non-electronic ID cards to persons who refuse to obtain an electronic ID card on the religious grounds.

The Minister of Justice has commented on the Court decision, saying that the electronic IDs are important to hold fair and democratic elections.

“An electronic ID card is a document ensuring the democratic and correct development of our country. This also implies credible elections. It is almost the election year. That is why the biometric photo list that Georgian Dream introduced in 2014 is credible because there is an electronic ID in our country and I do not want to think it will one day be called into question,” Tsulukiani said.

According to the Justice Minister, more than three million Georgian citizens and adults today own authentic electronic ID cards. Tsulukiani hopes that they "will conduct the next elections based on a biometric photo list and electronic ID."

An NGO working on election issues International Society for Fair Elections And Democracy (ISFED) noted that it is right that the paper IDs are easier to falsify, but at this point, it can only be argued at the level of unreasonable speculation about whether or not this issue will be exploited for the elections.

Another local NGO The Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) notes that even though manifesting one's faith and conducting it following the beliefs of one's is an important aspect of the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of belief. That is why, in some cases, the legislator is obliged to assess whether a substantially neutral norm leads to an unjustified restriction of the rights of persons of a particular faith.

It should be noted that as per the ruling of the Holy Synod of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia, there is no usage of anti-Christian symbols in the IDs containing the ‘chips’ the denial of such ID does not derive from the Orthodox teachings. The EMC notes that the applicants should explain how the electronic IDs are related to their faith, which can’t be seen in the case files.

“The Constitutional Court has used the suspension mechanism, which is only applied in exceptional cases by the Court where there is a threat of irreversible, permanent infringement of plaintiff’s rights and the person has no other legal remedy to avoid such an outcome. The Constitutional Court held that if the disputed norms were found unconstitutional, the harm caused by these norms could not be remedied. However, the court did not see the risks of unjustified restriction of the rights and public interests of third parties by suspending the disputed norms,” noted EMC.

EMC added that the decision made by the Court lacks reasoning and even though the exceptional suspension mechanism was used, the Court did not substantively consider at a prima facie point if the applicant’s demands were in accordance with the requirement of seriousness and significance test and if it was satisfied to place the case in a protected area of freedom of religion.

Additionally, EMC said the court did not properly consider the dangers of suspending the disputed norms to the public interest. EMC stated that they will observe the substantive review of the case.