Parliament Speaker: Venice Commission confirms Georgian deoligarchisation bill identical to Ukrainian

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said the opinion of the Council of Europe's Venice Commission on the deoligarchisation bill confirmed that Georgian law was identical to the Ukrainian one.

It was acknowledged by the Commission’s opinion that the draft law could be adopted by the Georgian Parliament, Papuashvili noted in his social media post, adding it included recommendations for improving the “special law” on deoligarchisation.

As for the draft amendments to the Law on Common Courts, the Commission has not made any “significant” comments on the bill, the Parliament Speaker said, emphasising that in its opinion the Commission considered the European Commission’s recommendations on the reform - to eliminate “corporatism” in the Council of Justice. In its opinion, the Commission could not say whether there have been signs of “corporatism”, he stressed.

The Parliament official also noted the legislative body would receive the OSCE/ODIHR concussions on the deoligarchisation draft law as well as on the draft amendments to the law on courts.

The Venice Commission earlier today published its interim opinion on the deoligarchisation draft law, in which it said limiting the influence of “oligarchs” on political, economic and public life has “certainly” been a “priority for a state wishing to achieve a democratic system governed by the rule of law”.

The Commission, in its opinion, supported the intent of the Georgian draft law to “attempt to eradicate or reduce” the influence of “oligarchs” over public life, while also offering “specific recommendations” to improve the draft law.