Georgia’s surveillance laws scrutinised by European experts
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Georgian lawmakers have been advised to tighten the country’s surveillance laws and formalise the mandate as to who can conduct lawful surveillance.
Two international legal experts from the European Council took part in a Georgian Parliament meeting to give their recommendation about Georgia’s draft law on government surveillance practices.
Joseph Cannataci and Graham Sutton recommended the country create a transparent system where surveillance could be accessed by the Government and private organisations.
The legal experts recommended the special group commissioned with overseeing the creation of the draft law, to recommend a model that would protect civilians from illegal surveillance.
"Only after a court verdict will it be possible for the Interior Ministry to launch surveillance and simultaneously, a private organisation or special monitoring agency must double check the accuracy of the surveillance,” Cannataci said.
He believed there was no instrument in the world that fully protected citizens from illegal surveillance but believed a model to reduce this "would be appreciated”.
Meanwhile other international legal experts criticized the model offered by Georgia’s Interior Ministry which outlined to tighten the supervisory role of the personal data inspector.
Cannataci believed the Government-offered model was "a step forward” but incomplete.
Meanwhile Thomas Hammarberg, who was appointed by the European Commission as the EU's Special Adviser for Legal and Constitutional Reform and Human Rights in Georgia in February, recommended it was important for activities in this sphere to be regulated by law and put under democratic and judicial control.
"It is known that systems have been developed in other countries to enable security authorities or ministries of interior to exercise ‘data mining’ of basically all electronic communications. I have been informed that Georgia also has a system through which the [Ministry of Internal Affairs] has automatic access to all phone calls, emails, SMS via the private telecom providers in the country,” Hammarberg stated in his recommendation.
"Georgia has a system through which the Ministry of Internal Affairs has automatic access to all phone calls, emails and SMS via the private telecom providers in the country. It is important that activities in this area be regulated by law and put under democratic and judicial control,” the recommendation stated.
Parliament of Georgia adopted a comprehensive legislative package to prevent hidden surveillance with 97 votes in favour and zero against at its first hearing at a special sitting in Parliament today.
Illegal surveillance became a subject of intense discussion in Georgia following the revelation thousands of secret video recordings were kept by the former government.
Laws to forbid illegal surveillance of Georgian citizens is expected to be passed by Parliament at its first hearing on May 15 or 16, says Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili.
Forty five disks and two Winchester drives with secret video recordings of the private lives of Georgian citizens have been destroyed at the Interior Ministry today.
UPDATED: 20:57: The Georgian Parliament voted to postpone the adoption of a new law on surveillance for four months. After much debate, lawmakers decided to discuss the final version of the law in February instead of April, after 65 MPs voted in favour while 31 voted against.
Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili has publically announced his disappointment in the delaying of adopting changes to the country’s surveillance law.
Georgia’s Parliament passed President Giorgi Margvelashvili’s notes on the country’s surveillance law with 95 votes in favour to one against to extend the deadline from November 1 to December 1 instead of being adopted on February 28, 2015.
Parliament of Georgia has approved a Government-backed bill on surveillance that allows the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) to retain ‘key’ access to surveillance at its third and final reading today after 73 Members of Parliament (MPs) voted in favour and 30 voted against.
A new law coming into force today gives the Personal Data Protection Inspector of Georgia overall control of secret surveillance throughout the country.
With 89 votes for and 20 against, the Georgian Parliament adopted a draft of a law today titled Covert Investigative Activities.
With 87 votes for and 2 against, the Georgian Parliament today adopted a final draft of a law that will establish a covert surveillance agency under the auspices of the State Security Service.