The Committee considered with the first reading the draft Constitutional law On Changes to the Constitution of Georgia, envisaging checks and balances principle.
The Chair of the Committee, Vakhtang KHMALADZE spoke about the conclusion of the Commission on Public Consideration of the Constitutional Law and the main provisions of the draft. One of the most important points of the legislative initiative of 78 MPs is to regulate the established norms, which empower the President of Georgia to form the Government without approval by the Parliament.
As Vakhtang KHMALADZE stated, the Government shall not be appointed by the President solely without approval by the Parliament.
According to him, the initiators of the Constitutional changes also considered the remarks by the NGOs and the Constitutionalists.
The Committee members unanimously supported submission of the draft to the plenary session, considering the remarks by the Commission.
The draft “On Change to the Law On Intelligence of Georgia” was introduced with the first reading by the initiator, Irine IMERLISHVILI. According to the changes, the intelligence service shall no longer be subordinated to the President and shall be conveyed to the Governmental control. According to her, these changes shall facilitate maintenance of the unified security system in the country.
The Parliamentary Secretary of the Government Shalva TADUMADZE introduced sundry drafts. The drafts “On Change to the Criminal Code of Georgia” and “On Change to the Criminal Code of Practice” were considered and supported by the Committee with the second reading.
He also introduced the draft on “Changes to the Criminal Code of Practice” with the first reading. The change concerns hearing of the case without the jury. The opinions by the Committee members were various and the majority did not support the draft. Despite this fact, the author of the draft is entitled to submit the draft to the plenary session.
The Committee discussed the initiative by the Committee on Sector Economy and Economic Policy, envisaging adoption of the change to the law On Advertisement. The reason for adoption of the draft is to protect the national language. The Committee members approved the essence of the draft, though noted that it needs to be improved.