EU Ambassador to Georgia criticizes amendments allowing secret investigative actions
The EU Ambassador to Georgia Karl Hartzel criticized the adoption of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code - the diplomat fears that this may limit the privacy of citizens.
The Parliament of Georgia this week adopted amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, according to which the list of violations will be expanded, in connection with which secret investigative actions will be allowed, and their duration will increase.
The EU Delegation to Georgia has published a comment by Karl Hartzel.
The diplomat draws attention to the fact that the parliament "continues to adopt important legislative changes" in an accelerated way, without consulting local or international human rights organizations, as well as analyzing compliance with European standards.
"Although the changes in the Criminal Procedure Code may be legitimate from the point of view of security, we note with concern that the current changes significantly restrict the privacy of Georgian citizens without providing sufficient guarantees of unjustified invasion of privacy and protection of personal data," the commentary says.
Hartzel recalls that even before the adoption of the amendments, the EU shared its concerns with the Parliament of Georgia and proposed to send the new law to the Venice Commission before its final revision to assess its compliance with European standards and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
"We regret that the Georgian Parliament decided to adopt this bill without these consultations," the diplomat describes the result of his warnings.
"We call on the Government of Georgia to fulfill its obligations to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Georgian citizens, and to provide adequate and effective guarantees of their potential violations.
We call on the Parliament to immediately turn to the Venice Commission for an opinion on this bill and consider its recommendations.
We also call on the government to inform the diplomatic community about the results of the promised investigation into the facts of large—scale surveillance of Georgian and foreign citizens identified in September 2021," Karl Hartzel said in a statement.
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EU Ambassador to Georgia criticizes amendments allowing secret investigative actions
The EU Ambassador to Georgia Karl Hartzel criticized the adoption of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code - the diplomat fears that this may limit the privacy of citizens.
The Parliament of Georgia this week adopted amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, according to which the list of violations will be expanded, in connection with which secret investigative actions will be allowed, and their duration will increase.
The EU Delegation to Georgia has published a comment by Karl Hartzel.
The diplomat draws attention to the fact that the parliament "continues to adopt important legislative changes" in an accelerated way, without consulting local or international human rights organizations, as well as analyzing compliance with European standards.
"Although the changes in the Criminal Procedure Code may be legitimate from the point of view of security, we note with concern that the current changes significantly restrict the privacy of Georgian citizens without providing sufficient guarantees of unjustified invasion of privacy and protection of personal data," the commentary says.
Hartzel recalls that even before the adoption of the amendments, the EU shared its concerns with the Parliament of Georgia and proposed to send the new law to the Venice Commission before its final revision to assess its compliance with European standards and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
"We regret that the Georgian Parliament decided to adopt this bill without these consultations," the diplomat describes the result of his warnings.
"We call on the Government of Georgia to fulfill its obligations to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Georgian citizens, and to provide adequate and effective guarantees of their potential violations.
We call on the Parliament to immediately turn to the Venice Commission for an opinion on this bill and consider its recommendations.
We also call on the government to inform the diplomatic community about the results of the promised investigation into the facts of large—scale surveillance of Georgian and foreign citizens identified in September 2021," Karl Hartzel said in a statement.
newsgeorgia.ge
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