Today, on June 23, the Vice-Speaker, ME Manana Kobakhidze delivered the speech at PACE Session held in Strasbourg, speaking about Parliamentary Immunity and changes implemented in this direction in Georgia. According to her, the immunity in the modern world is the most important political-legal mechanism, serving for enhancement of independence of MP and reduction of political impact thereon:

Dear Esteemed Colleagues,

Please allow me, at the outset, to express my sincere appreciation to the respected speaker for the report prepared on the issue of parliamentary immunity. I would like to confirm that immunity, in the modern world, is the most important political and legal instrument, granted to Members of Parliament to strengthen their independence and minimize the risk of political pressure on them. Therefore, through analysing the constitutional practices and regulations applied in the states, it is necessary to ensure an active exchange of opinions for the purpose of further refining the standards required for exercise of powers by members of parliament.

At the same time, I consider it appropriate to comment on an entry in the report related to the situation in Georgia. In particular, the document states that an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia made in May 2014, was an act directed against one of the members of the parliament from opposition and aimed at undermining his immunity. I would like to highlight that the above-mentioned information is absolutely not true! The amendment instead served the single purpose of bringing the Law into full compliance with the Constitution of Georgia.

To be more precise, in April 2004, a component of parliamentary privilege, requiring prior consent of the parliament for depriving a Member of Parliament of immunity from criminal prosecution, i.e. starting criminal proceedings against him/her, was removed from the Constitution of Georgia. The Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia was amended accordingly soon after. Though, later, in 2010 the governing party - UNM reinstated the provision in the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia in spite of the fact that the provision contradicted constitutional provisions. The provision established the boundaries not envisaged in the Constitution of Georgia, which resulted in a legislative collision.

This retrospective very clearly outlines the real motivation of the Government of Georgia for the amendments made in 2014. Georgia is no longer a country where amendments to the legislation can be used as instruments of persecution of any citizen or a member of parliament.  Today we remain firmly committed to building a free, democratic state, where Human Rights are upheld and protected.

In conclusion, I would like to remind you, that parliamentary immunity is neither a pure privilege nor a shield against being held liable for a violation of the law. Instead, with the parliamentary privileges we enjoy, we become the bearers of the greatest responsibility before the state and the society for displaying exemplary law-abidance and for being model citizens! 

Thank you for your attention!

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