The Parliament of Georgia resubmitted to the Venice Commission a draft law on deoligarchization after it was amended. Opposition MPs Khatia Dekanoidze and Paata Manjgaladze noted that the current version of the bill could still be used by the Georgian authorities for repression.
As the ” Caucasian Knot ” reported, on November 29, 2022, “Georgian Dream” agreed to send the draft law “On Deoligarchization” to the Venice Commission in order to exclude the use of this topic for political speculation. On March 16, it became known that the Venice Commission recommended amendments to the document, as, in the opinion of its members, the draft law gives the Georgian government too much freedom of action, which is fraught with the risk of arbitrary application and violation of human rights.
On June 23, 2022, the Council of the European Union decided to recognize the European perspective of Georgia and stated that it was ready to grant the country the status of a candidate member of the EU, but demanded that the Georgian authorities implement a list of recommendations, including deoligarchization. It is important for the EU that Georgia fulfill all the points of the recommendations, including the demand for de-oligarchization, analysts interviewed earlier by the “Caucasian Knot” pointed out .
The Parliament of Georgia resubmitted to the Venice Commission the draft law “On Deoligarchization” after the introduction of amendments to it, which were previously recommended by this commission. Speaker of the Parliament Shalva Papuashvili asked the Venice Commission to make an expedited opinion on the document due to the busy schedule of the spring session of the Georgian Parliament, which ends in June, Netgazeti.ge reported on April 14.
Most likely, the Venice Commission will again make recommendations to amend the bill, said Khatia Dekanoidze , a member of the Georgian parliament from the opposition United National Movement party . “The interest of state structures is fully visible in this law. I think the Venice Commission will send a negative opinion to the Georgian authorities, since the bill needs to be finalized,” Dekanoidze was quoted by Rustavi 2 TV channel on April 14 on its website.
A similar opinion was expressed by MP from the opposition Strategy Agmashenebeli party Paata Manjgaladze . “If necessary, this law can be used for repression,” he explained.
Recall that on November 22, 2022, analysts expressed the opinion that the draft law “On Deoligarchization” adopted in the second reading by the Parliament of Georgia allows it to be used to fight the opposition, the criteria for inclusion in the list of oligarchs can be easily manipulated, and Bidzina Ivanishvili, who founded the current ruling party, does not will be included in the list of oligarchs.
The “Caucasian Knot” also wrote that on January 11, 2021, Ivanishvili announced his retirement from politics , from the post of chairman of the Georgian Dream party and from the party itself. According to him, one of the important factors in making such a decision was age, according to a biographical note about Ivanishvili prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.
Source: Caucasian Knot
