According to the regulations of Georgian parliament, one month before local elections the plenary sessions of the parliament do not take place, therefore, discussions about legislative regulations of illegal eavesdropping May be postponed.
First committee meeting of above mentioned project started on April 3rd, and was discussed in the Human Rights and Civil Integration, Health and Social Affairs and procedural committees. The next day it was reported that the Ministry of State Security and Crisis Management Council, initiated by the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutor General's staff interdepartmental temporary working group was created, with the aim of personal information protection strategy and as it became known later, part of the discussion was illegal eavesdropping as well.
Created working group within the Parliament's legal committee has been working almost for 10 months to improve the bill together with non-governmental organizations and international experts. The Interior Ministry was involved in the process as well, who did not submit any type of notes or recommendations regarding the bill.
It is obvious that the creation of a temporary working group considerably slowed the draft review process. There is suspicion that the government, in particular, law enforcement agencies are deliberately trying to impede the legislative review process.
The non-governmental organizations which are involved in Campaign "It Affects You Too, they are still listening" call upon the Parliament to resume consideration of the legislative package and to promote the implementation of the legislative process of illegal eavesdropping. It is important to complete the discussion of the bill before the municipal elections.
We also call on the government not to drag out the process for the review of the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code and to support the campaign regarding legislative changes that will ensure the protection of the constitutional guarantee of privacy and its compliance with international standards.
