Research Manager: Lika Sajaia Lead researcher: Tamar Tatanashvili Also participated in the research: George Topouria, Gigi Chikhladze, Ana Dabrundashvili, Giorgi Beraia Transparency International Georgia Address: Tbilisi, Aghmashenebeli Avenue 61, 0102 Telephone: (+995 32) 292 14 03 Email: [email protected] , [email protected] Website: http://transparency.ge, http://MyParliament.ge The report was prepared with the financial support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). TI Georgia is responsible for the content of the report. The views expressed in the report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Swedish International Development CooperationAgency (Sida). CONTENT INTRODUCTION 4 CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PARLIAMENT 4 CHAPTER 2. GENERAL STATISTICS 6 CHAPTER 3. IMPORTANT EVENTS 8 3.1. Election of Public Officials by the Parliament 8 3.2. Approval of the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan 8 3.3. Establishment of an Interim Investigation Commission on Sakdrisi-Kachagiani Gold Mine 9 3.4. Changes in the Parliamentary Majority and Minority 9 3.5. The President’s Address to the Parliament 10 3.6. Initiation of Constitutional Amendments and Legislative Amendments Related to Electoral System 10 3.7. Postponement Enactment of Draft Laws 11 3.8. Vote of Confidence to the Government 12 CHAPTER 4. IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENTS 14 4.1. Progressive Legislative Amendments 14 4.1.1. Reform of Capacity Institute of Georgia 14 4.1.2. Code of Juvenile Justice 14 4.1.3. Ban on Early Marriages with Parental Consent 14 4.1.4. Mandate Extension for the Confidence Group 15 4.1.5. Legal Status of Aliens 15 4.2. Positive Legislative Amendments Needing Refinement 16 4.2.1. Public Service Reform 16 4.2.2. Law on the Business Ombudsman 17 4.2.3. Law on Labour Migration 17 4.2.4. Legislative Amendments to Drug-Related Offences 18 4.3. Negative legislative amendments 18 4.3.1. Separation of the Supervision Function from the National Bank 18 4.3.2. Amendments to Eviction Regulations 19 4.3.3. Amendments the Law on the Notaries 20 4.3.4. Law on State Secrets 21 4.3.5. Reducing the Scope of Jury Trial 21 4.3.6. Criminalizing Incitement of Hatred 22 4.3.7. Amendments to Rules on Witness Interrogation 22 4.4. Reform of law enforcement system 23 4.4.1. Reform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs 23 4.4.2. Prosecution Reform 23 CHAPTER 5. PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL 26 5.1. Hearing of Reports of the Bodies Accountable to the Parliament 26 5.1.1. Hearing of Reports by the State Audit Office and the National Bank of Georgia 27 5.1.2. Hearing of Reports by Committees and Inviting the Bodies Accountable to the Parliament to the Committee 27 5.2. MP Questions: Verbal and Written 30 5.3. Government Hour in Parliament 33 5.4. Temporary Investigation Commissions 33 5.5. Execution of Control by the Parliament over Implementation of Governmental Acts and the Budget 35 CHAPTER 6. INFORMATION ABOUT MPS (EDUCATION, AGE, PROFESSION) 38 6.1. Age of the Members of Parliament 38 6.2. Education and Specialisation of the Members of Parliament 38 CHAPTER 7. PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN THE ACTIVITIES OF THE PARLIAMENTARY 39 CHAPTER 8. ACTIVITIES OF PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSIONS AND COUNCILS 44 8.1. Commission on Restoration of Territorial Integrity 44 8.2. Council of Gender Equality 45 8.3. Treasury Council 46 8.4. Supervisory Council of Budget Office of the Parliament 46 8.5. State Constitutional Commission and Organizational Committee for Nationwide Discussions on Constitutional Amendments 47 CHAPTER 9. ACTIVITIES OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT 48 9.1. Number of Draft Laws Initiated and Adopted by Members of Parliament and the Initiators 48 9.2. Number of Speeches Given by Members of Parliament at the Plenary Sessions 50 9.3. Comments of Members of Parliament on Draft Laws 52 9.4. Business Trips of the Members of Parliament 54 CHAPTER 10. PARTICIPATION OF THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT IN THE PLENARY SESSIONS AND WORK OF THE COMMITTEES; THE ISSUE OF DISCIPLINARY LIABILITY 58 10.1. Reasonable Cause for Absence from Plenary Sessions and Committee Meetings 58 10.2. Absence from Plenary Sessions and Committee Meetings without a Reasonable Cause 60 CHAPTER 11. EVALUATION OF THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEES OF THE PARLIAMENT 62 11.1. Participation of the Committees in the Legislative Process 62 11.2. Discussion of Legislative Proposals by the Committees 63 11.3. Response to the Applications Submitted by the Citizens 65 11.4. Establishment of Working Groups by Committees and Outcomes of their Performance 66 11.5. Relationship of Committees with Experts 67 11.6. Legal Issues Committee Representation in the Constitutional Court 68 11.7. Activities of the Committee on European Integration 69 CHAPTER 12. ACTIVITIES OF THE BUREAUS OF MAJORITARIAN MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT 70 12.1. Applications and Problems of the Citizens 73 12.2. Problems of Voters and Survey Results 73 12.3. Public Meetings 74 12.4. Bureaus and Local Self-Government Bodies 74 12. 5. Cost Estimation of the Majoritarian Bureaus 74 12.6. Informing the Population 75 CHAPTER 13. CONNECTION OF THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WITH BUSINESS AND UNDECLARED ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITIES 88 13.1. Connection of the Members of Parliament with Business 88 13.2. Undeclared Entrepreneurial Activities of the Members of Parliament 89 CHAPTER 14. PROBLEMS IN THE ACTIVITIES OF THE PARLIAMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL GEORGIA 114 ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE OF THE GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT | 2015 INTRODUCTION Transparency International Georgia conducts an annual assessment of the Parliament’s activities as part of its parliamentary monitoring program. The parliamentary team of our organization is actively engaged in the process of monitoring parliamentary performance. It publishes periodic reports in order to inform and update the public on activities of the Parliament and ensure transparency of its performance. The parliamentary team of Transparency International Georgia has offices in parliamentary buildings both in Tbilisi and Kutaisi. TI Georgia’s 2015 report on the Parliament’s performance is based upon analysis of the information obtained by our organization, observations of our parliamentary offices and statistical data retrieved from the Parliament.1 The report also presents results of the public opinion poll conducted by CRRC throughout Georgia in March of 2016 upon request of Transparency International Georgia. According the survey, 2032 randomly selected respondents were interviewed (except for regions densely populated by ethnic minorities and occupied territories). The survey is representative for the whole country and average margin of error makes up 3.2%. We would like to extend our particular gratitude for cooperation to the Organizational Department of the Parliament of Georgia and its Supervisor Eter Svianaidze. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHAPTER 1 PARLIAMENT The Parliament is the country’s supreme representative body that exercises legislative power, defines primary directions in the country’s domestic and foreign policies, controls activities of the Georgian Government within the constitutional framework and exercises other powers granted by the Constitution, other legislative acts and regulations of the Parliament. The Parliament consists of 75 members elected through the proportional system and another 73 members elected through the majoritarian system. The Parliament gets elected for a period of 4 years. Present Parliament is the parliament of the 8th convocation; it was elected on the 1st of October, 2012 and its authority expires in 2016, after acknowledgement of authority of the legislative body elected through the parliamentary elections. Parliamentary Committees play a vital role in the performance of the Parliament. Committees are established to facilitate preliminary preparation of legislative issues, promote implementation of decisions adopted by the Parliament, exercise control over activities of the Georgian Government and the bodies accountable to the Parliament. The Parliament establishes committees for the period of its own authority. The following are the Parliamentary Committees: • Agrarian Issues Committee; • Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee; • Education, Science and Culture Committee; • Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Committee; • Sector Economy and Economic Policy Committee; • Diaspora and Caucasus Issues Committee; • Committee on European Integration; • Defense and Security Committee; 4 1The report presents information as of December 31, 2015 SPRING, FALL AND EXTRAORDINARY SESSIONS • Legal Issues Committee; • Regional Policy and Self-governance Committee; • Foreign Relations Committee; • Procedural Issues and Rules Committee; • Budget and Finance Committee; • Sports and Youth Issues Committee; • Healthcare and Social Issues Committee. In addition, there are factions formed in the Parliament. Factions represent groups of MPs (at least 6 Mem- bers of the Parliament), who have come together to achieve their common political goals. Key objective of a parliamentary faction is to express and pursue its political course with respect to domestic and foreign political issues in the supreme legislative body. The Parliament of the 8th convocation had the following composition in 2015: Factions in the Parliamentary Majority: • The Georgian Dream; • The Georgian Dream - Republicans; • The Georgian Dream - Conservatives; • The Georgian Dream – National Forum; • The Georgian Dream – Entrepreneurs; • Independent Majoritarians – For Powerful Regions;