MP Levan Bezhashvili discusses UNM's document on de-oligarchization draft law
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
UNM MP Levan Bezhashvili talked about the UNM's de-oligarchization draft law document and said that it is not directed at any specific names.
"Our draft law is not directed against any one name and surname and it provides for the prevention of oligarchic rule in the future - who we are protecting now, whether it is Kezerashvili or someone else, is not important"
According to him, the bill will have a perspective if they look at it from the perspective that it is not written against specific names and surnames and based on the danger, they discuss how to not allow oligarchy rule in the country in the future.
As Bezhashvili explained, according to their project, the status of oligarch should be granted to individuals by the Constitutional Court. According to the MP, the project needs constitutional changes.
"The draft law takes into account the Georgian context regarding the problems of oligarchic governance, it contains signs and criteria of oligarchic governance. This draft law is not directed against any one specific name and surname, the draft assumes that in the future no oligarchic rule will be introduced, it is different (from the "Georgian Dream" project) in that the name and surnames should not be read here.
A different feature of the project is that the granting of the oligarch status is not related to any political and governmental body, but to the Constitutional Court. The process should be free from political content, and the granting of oligarch status and establishment of oligarchic signs should be the basis of legal proceedings, therefore we proposed a model of consideration of cases by the Constitutional Court.
This project needs to implement constitutional changes. Since the granting of oligarch status is related to legal restrictions, in our opinion, only the Constitutional Court can discuss these legal restrictions and make relevant decisions. The introduction of the constitutional court model will free this process from political conjuncture, political content, controversy and will be a purely legal process." Bezhashvili said.
As for the statements of the ruling party that the draft law was developed by the "United National Movement" to protect Kezerashvili, Bezhashvili said that it does not determine who is being protected.
"Who are we protecting now, be it Kezerashvili, Japaridze-Khazaradze surnames were mentioned before, and others can also be mentioned, there should be no determinant here, the main thing is the concept. The main thing is, who do we consider an oligarch? There may be a rich person, but the government institutions should not follow their wishes and the country should not be managed," said Bezhashvili.
