Pre-2011 citizen IDs to be replaced with electronic versions free of charge

Rati Bregadze, the candidate for the Minister of Justice of Georgia, on Monday announced citizens would be able to replace their older, laminated ID cards with new electronic versions free of charge.

Laminated ID cards issued before 2011 will be replaced free of charge with new electronic cards, as a result of which citizens will be able to use state services quickly and without restrictions”, Bregadze told the Parliament earlier today.

He also spoke about an amnesty for individual residential houses built without construction documentation over the years, set to affect up to a million citizens.

Bregadze said the corresponding law had already been adopted and entered into force, while currently the Government was working to determine the territories for its application.

He noted citizens who own houses in rural areas or cities without construction documents would no longer be required to go through a legalisation procedure.

These houses will no longer be in danger of being dismantled. By April 1, the territories will be fully defined, and the citizens will automatically be considered to own the houses”, Bregadze said.

The official added individuals in areas not falling under the amnesty could still be granted per-case exceptions if they met conditions.

Bregadze also shared plans for the launch of the European Union Law Centre on the bases of the Justice Training Centre of Georgia for the purpose of raising awareness of EU law in the country.

He added the Legislative Herald of Georgia would continue translation of the EU’s legal acts into Georgian with a “greater intensity”, pledging to improve access to the legal base of the bloc in the domestic language.

Making EU laws - the “community acquis” - accessible in Georgian is a mandatory requirement for membership in the bloc.