Parliament to consider changes that allow government to impose restrictions

By Natalia Kochiashvili

Wednesday, May 20

According to the PM, we still need restrictions, but we don’t need the extension of curfew and state of emergency.

TIG says it is unconstitutional to carry out restrictive measures without declaring a state of emergency.

The committees will consider the amendments to the Law of Georgia on Public Health in an expedited manner. The decision was made by the Bureau of the Parliament at the May 19 sitting. The Parliamentary Health Committee was named the leading committee.

According to the authors of the bill, in order to ensure that after the abolition of the state of emergency, given the challenges of the mass spread of coronavirus, the processes do not become unmanageable and the Georgian government and other relevant agencies still have the opportunity to take appropriate measures, it is necessary to adopt and implement established norms in time.

Under the changes, the definition of quarantine measures will be expanded and the term ‘isolation’ will be specified.

Members of the United National Movement and European Georgia oppose the bill. They believe that with such changes, the role of parliament will be abolished and the government will make the decision to impose restrictions.

Local watchdog, Transparency International Georgia (TIG) words the plot of the bill differently, saying the proposed amendment suggests that ‘the restriction of some basic human rights in the form of quarantine measures will be possible even without declaring a state of emergency’, whilst the rules and scope of the restriction shall be determined by the Government. According to the ngo, the draft law contradicts the Constitution of Georgia and provides for the restriction of basic human rights by the government, which, according to the Constitution, should be restricted only in case of emergency, and by a decision of the Parliament.

Legislative initiative of the majority members suggests that under the quarantine measures may be restricted: The right to operate public institutions;The right of persons to move; The right to property, labor, professional or economic activity; Gathering of individuals to hold social events.

These rights, according to the Constitution of Georgia, are basic human rights and the basis and rules for their restriction are defined by the Constitution. E.g. Freedom of labor, professional and economic activity, and freedom of assembly may be restricted only by the President's decree, which is approved by the Parliament of Georgia. “The Constitution does not provide for any other grounds for restriction, and therefore the restriction of these rights without a state of emergency is unconstitutional,” says TIG.

Organization also notes that the law project equals quarantine measures with the state of emergency and gov’t not only organizes different activities and operating of institutions/individuals, but imposes restrictions and determines the rules for the use of quarantine measures.

TIG announces that the restrictions on this scale of basic human rights should only be made in cases of extreme necessity, and that is why the Constitution provides for restrictions on the rights of assembly, labor, professional and economic activities only in a state of emergency and war.

NGO’s third concern is ‘ignoring the role of parliament in restricting basic human freedoms,’ since when declaring a state of emergency, the role of parliament is decisive and it is the authority of the people's representative body in the Parliamentary Republic to approve the state of emergency and the extent of the restriction of rights in this situation.

“The exercise of parliamentary control by parliament in a state of emergency is of particular importance, as the risk of disproportionate human rights violations is greater in this situation.” says TIG statement.

It is also underscored that after the state of emergency was declared on March 21st, 2020, Parliament has not in fact exercised parliamentary control for 2 months and has not discussed the proportionality of human rights restrictions.

Organization says this project completely excludes the participation of the Parliament in this process, whilst its role is especially important in a critical situation, and it is particularly dangerous for the democratic development of the country to illegally transfer the powers established by the constitution to the government.

Statement also notes that in this election year, it is especially important to ensure human rights, including freedom of movement and assembly, thus calls on the Parliament of Georgia not to support the proposed bill, which ‘will pose a significant threat to the democratic governance of the country and will unconstitutionally restrict the basic rights and freedoms provided for in the Constitution of Georgia and international acts.’

The Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia yesterday spoke about the need to maintain certain restrictions and noted that this is due to the epidemiological situation. According to him, it will be irrational to remove all restrictions at once, putting every citizen and economic recovery at risk: “Therefore, we need restrictions, but at the same time we do not need a state of emergency and a curfew. That’s why we appealed to the Parliament to make these restrictions reasonable, effective and aimed at specific goals,” Gakharia said, adding that each step should be extremely careful and thoughtful.

PM emphasized that today the government is trying and effectively finding a balance between managing the risks of the epidemic, reviving the economy and maintaining a vibrant political process.

If the bill is passed, the legislative change will take effect on May 23rd, 2020, which coincides with the lifting of the state of emergency that has been declared throughout Georgia since March 21st.