The Working Group on Anti-Corruption Measures at Legal Issues Committee held its first session in an extended format.

Anri Okhanashvili, the Chairman of the Committee and the head of the Working Group, stated that the meeting helped identify a number of diverse issues that will be further elaborated upon by the Group, including the creation of an independent anti-corruption agency in accordance with the proposal, a prevention-oriented anti-corruption direction, rapid response in case of corruption detection, and where necessary, revision of specific criminal law compositions and sanctions as well as the creation of an independent anti-corruption agency as per the proposal of the representative of the civil society.

"Each participant had the opportunity to address the topics of their choosing. From our perspective, we brought up concerns about the need to improve agency collaboration and the effort put forth to avoid corruption. We invited the representatives of the various agencies to submit suggestions regarding the danger zones and work-related obstacles in each direction. Our goal is to further strengthen criminal justice policy where necessary in addition to prevention. The civil society representative brought up the need for a distinct anti-corruption agency. The Group will discuss the aforementioned topics in its upcoming meeting, which will take place soon. It is important to emphasize that Georgia has achieved significant strides in the fight against corruption. Georgia ranks first in Eastern Europe and 45th out of 145 states according to the Corruption Perception Index, indicating that the battle against corruption is a top priority for our nation. Several efforts have been taken in this direction, and we are still working to strengthen institutions even more", - Anri Okhanashvili remarked.

The Working Group is composed of: members of the faction "Georgian Dream" and individual opposition groups, as well as representatives of the government administration, the prosecutor's office, the State Security Service, the Ministry of Justice, the State Audit Service, and civil society (EaP CSF Georgian National Platform).

The plan calls for the measure to be introduced no later than October 19, 2022, and adopted no later than December 1 of the same year.