The Procedural Issues and Rules Committee discussed the Draft Rules of Procedure, introduced by the Speaker, H.E. Shalva Papuashvili. The Draft envisages the removal of Chapter XVIII from the Rules of Procedure, which regulates the institutions under the administration of the Parliament, namely, the Council of Heraldry, the National Library and the Research Center.

“The Amendments cover three institutions of the Parliament: the National Library, Council of Heraldry and the LEPL Research Center. In the case of the National Library, the amendments propose the conferring of a legally recognized status upon the institution, thereby transforming it into the LEPL Ilia Chavchavadze National Library and enabling its operation within the Ministry of Culture. All employees of the Library will retain their current status as public officers”, - the Speaker stated.

The amendments to the document envisage the replacement of the Council of Heraldry with the LEPL Department on State Symbols at the Government of Georgia, which will comprise the Council of Heraldry with its structure and budget.

“Hence, it is expedient to, instead of the Parliamentary Resolution, regulate the aforementioned aspects under the respective Governmental acts, which will consolidate the legislations governing the state symbols and heraldry under one umbrella. The employees of the Council shall be appointed in the Department without the competition”, - the Speaker added.

Regarding the Research Centre, the institution is subject to dissolution. The remaining resources at its balance shall be transferred to the Parliament, and its activities shall be delegated to the Staff. Employees dismissed from the Research Centre shall be compensated with three months’ salaries.

As Shalva Papuashvili underlined, the legal form of certain structures has been a subject of discussion for several years. This scrutiny included the revision of international practices, resulting in the development of the introduced Draft.

The legal package, submitted for expedited consideration, was approved by the Committee for the I reading.