Justice Ministry officials brief PM on planned 2023 work, innovative projects

The Georgian PM on Thursday hosted the Justice Minister and his deputies at a working meeting at his office. Photo: Government press office 

Agenda.ge, 09 Feb 2023 - 18:23, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze and his deputies on Thursday briefed the country’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on the body’s planned 2023 work and innovative projects, including the introduction of a new generation of citizen IDs. 

In a meeting at the Government office, Bregadze said the protection of human rights, ensuring the country’s legal security and accessible services for citizens were among his body’s “top priorities”. 

The land registration system across the country was also discussed, with the officials noting land plots would be measured and registered in 59 municipalities across the country free of charge this year.

The meeting also highlighted 187,720 land plots had been measured and 95,617 others registered so far, with the process expected to be completed by 2024, including addressing 78 percent of previously uncatalogued settlements. 

At the meeting the PM was also informed about the implementation of the Government-approved 2022-2025 strategy for the development of services, involving the development of a unified standard for creation, delivery, quality assurance and evaluation of state services and their provision to the public. 

The officials pointed out seven state agencies would be guided by a single standard in the part of state services by the end of this year to ensure the implementation of the strategy. 

Bregadze was appointed Minister of Justice in April 2021. Photo: Government press office. 

Along with measures planned to facilitate the enforcement of the new code on entrepreneurship and expand accessibility of notary services, Bregadze said his body planned to launch a new generation of citizen identification documents with “top security standards”. 

He also said a digital signature - the so-called “Mobile ID” - and a Digital Justice House application would be launched in other efforts related to legal identification and public services systems.

Other plans of the Justice Ministry for 2023 include: 

  • The opening of new public service halls in Zestaponi, Terjola, Samtredia, Akhmeta and Khashuri municipalities in the country’s west and east, and the launch of construction of facilities in Khelvachauri, Tsaishi, Tolebi, Zoti, Sachkhere, Shrosha, Mtskheta, Sagarejo and in Gldani distinct of capital Tbilisi. The coverage of mobile public service venues will be expanded - with their number increasing to 20 - while innovative services will be available in all the regions of the country
  • Beneficiaries of the National Agency for Crime Prevention, Non-Custodial Sentences and Probation will use the PROBAPP mobile application that will allow them to access Agency-related services remotely
  • The launch of the construction of Shida Kartli and Mtskheta-Mtianeti regional archive venues in central Georgia 
  • Opening of a penitentiary facility for up to 700 convicts in Laituri, in western Georgia
  • Expansion of the Digital University innovative educational project to a number of penitentiary institutions
  • Introduction of a new penal code to improve the working conditions of the employees in the Special Penitentiary Service and the legal status of persons in penitentiary institutions
  • Continued translation of laws in the languages of ethnic minorities to expand the number of normative acts from 60 to 100 by late 2023

The PM's discussion with Justice Ministry officials involved a wide range of questions. Photo: Government press office. 

Expressing gratitude to the PM for the Ministry budget of ₾758 million ($284 mln), a nearly doubled figure compared to 2020, the officials pointed to the importance of PROBBOX - an innovative device providing electronic control and services to probationers, which has been described as an “innovation on a European scale” by the European Probation Confederation.

The deputy ministers noted the registry of inmates had been produced in a new OIS programme, a “flexible information system” that provided “complete information” on each prisoner and created the possibility of extracting and processing statistical and analytical data.

The officials also made a special emphasis on Georgia’s winning of “all international disputes” against Russia related to the 2008 conflict between the two states over the past several years in the European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court, and stressed the body would further activate its efforts to ensure the enforcement of the rulings. 

Pointing to the “sharp decrease” of lawsuits against Georgia in the ECHR, Bregadze said the Court would review only 155 complaints filed against the country this year, compared to 2009-2012 figures that he said had ranged between 3,000-4,000.

He said the reduction in the number of complaints had been due to the legal reforms implemented by the Georgian Dream authorities since 2012.