Georgian Deputy PM hails Gov’t cooperation in ICC ruling on 2008 war

Levan Davitashvili, the Georgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, on Monday praised the Government’s communication with international legal institutions. Photo: Government press office

 

Agenda.ge, 20 Dec 2022 - 14:55, Tbilisi,Georgia

Levan Davitashvili, the Georgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, on Monday praised his Government’s “close cooperation” with the International Criminal Court in the latter’s investigation into possible crimes committed during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. 

Revealed on Friday, the conclusion of The Hague-based Court has led to arrest warrants issued for three representatives of the de facto authorities in Georgia’s Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region - the epicenter of the conflict and a territory occupied by Russia since the war for acts committed during or following the conflict.

The conclusions also name a Russian military official - now deceased - as an offender, and confirm Georgian troops had acted in line with international law during the conflict. 

ICC noted in 20 years since the establishment of the court, “today marks the first time my Office has decided to conclude the investigation phase of its work in relation to a situation addressed by the court”. 

Davitashvili said “active” engagement of the country’s Government and the Ministry of Justice had led to “positive outcomes” for Georgia in cases over the war both in the European Court of Human Rights and the ICC, and noted the enforcement of the latter’s ruling was “still ahead”. 

The official also responded to domestic opposition’s criticism of his comments on the ICC report on Monday, when the Minister told a journalist he was “not aware” of the development. 

My response was incorrectly interpreted. I have been on several foreign visits in recent days, and assumed the journalist’s question was about some last-minute information [I had not been informed about in my absence]”, he said. 

After announcing the completion of its investigation into the case studying potential war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, launched in 2016, the ICC pledged “continuous efforts” to ensure “successful prosecution” of the individuals subject to arrest warrants.