War of Statements – Details about Ivanishvili‘s Denaturalization

Aleksi Bezhanishvili

As soon as businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili took first steps in Georgian politics, he was trapped by the United National Movement. Civil Registration Agency of Georgia annulled his Georgian citizenship. That means, Ivanishvili can neither set up a political party nor fund other parties because the Georgian legislation prohibits similar actions for foreign citizens.

Currently legal war is going on between Ivanishvili’s lawyer and the government to estimate the legality of depriving the citizenship from the businessman.

The Civil Registration Agency released first statement on October 11 and it states: “Citizen of Russian Federation Bidzina Grigol Ivanishvili was admitted to the citizenship of Georgia on July 22, 2004. According to the Constitution of Georgia and Article 32 of the Organic Law of Georgia on Citizenship of Georgia, a person will lose Georgian citizenship if s/he acquires citizenship of another country. The Civil Registration Agency carried out procedures in accordance to the Organic Law of Georgia on Citizenship of Georgia and concluded that in 2004 Bidzina Ivanishvili acquired citizenship of French Republic after having received Georgian citizenship. Due to mentioned circumstances, in compliance with the requirements of the Constitution of Georgia and Organic Law of Georgia Georgian citizenship was deprived from Bidzina Ivanishvili.”

We can assume that according to the instructions of the National Movement, Civil Registration Agency made the abovementioned decision after Bidzina Ivanishvili confessed that he was citizen of Russia and France. More precisely, in his public statement of October 7 he said: “And another issue: about 1/3 of my property is located in Russia. In order to avoid appearance of additional questions from the society when I join the politics, before the parliamentary elections of 2012 I will sell my business in Russia. For the same reason I decline my double citizenship and in near future I will surrender my Russian and French passports.”

Why Now and Not Before?!

According to the Law of Georgia about Political Unions of Citizens, any citizen of Georgia has constitutional right to establish a political party and/or participate in its activities. Nevertheless, a person without Georgian citizenship can neither establish a party nor fund it. More precisely, a political party cannot receive financial and material donations from: a physical or legal entity of foreign countries as well as from citizens of foreign states.

In addition, only citizen of Georgia can become a Member of Parliament or a president of Georgia.

According to the Constitution of Georgia, a person with double citizenship cannot be a president, a prime-minister of Georgia or chair of the Georgian Parliament.

The Constitution also states that a state is entitled to restrict political activities of foreign citizens and people without citizenship.

Today, the deprived citizenship of Bidzina Ivanishvili is the main topic for Georgian media. Correspondent of the “Radio Liberty” Lela Kunchulia focused on an interesting detail in her letter: the initial statement of the Civil Registration Agency did not contain the exact year when Ivanishvili was admitted to French Citizenship, when the CRA got interested in the issue and when the Georgian citizenship was suspended for the businessman. CRA’s statement of October 11 states that in 2004, when Bidzina Ivanishvili received Georgian citizenship, he already was citizen of Russia.

“A person, holding citizenship of another country, could receive citizenship of Georgia only from the President of Georgia. According to the exceptions envisaged under the Constitution, only president can grant double citizenship to a person,” Constitutionalist Vakhtang Khmaladze told the Radio Liberty and added that current legislation does not clarify the procedures onward a person receives double citizenship. “It is already exception when Russian citizen Bidzina Ivanishvili received Georgian citizenship from the President… Afterwards, what has changed when Ivanishvili was admitted to French, American, British or other citizenships? The law does not prohibit it. When we allege that the president can grant citizenship to a citizen of another country, it generally means that another country can be one or three.”

The political party “Georgian Way” discovered a counter document in the data base of the CRA. The news agency Interpresnews was informed from the party that a person with the same name, birth date, and address as Bidzina Ivanishvili was found in the Voters’ List for the municipal elections in 2010.

“The CRA issued ID of the citizen of Georgia on Ivanishvili on March 7, 2006. Consequently, the person could participate in the elections of 2010,” the statement reads.

The political party calls upon the CRA to confirm or deny the similarity between the person found in their data base and Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Thus, after the first statement of the CRA was published, it was clear that since Ivanishvili participated in the local self-governmental elections in 2010, he still was citizen of Georgia.

The first statement of the CRA was so obscure that everybody doubted Ivanishvili received French Citizenship in 2004. Member of the Republic Party Levan Berdzenishvili shared the opinion and discussed another important detail in his interview with the Kviris Palitra. He said, Ivanishvili took his ID in 2006 so by that time he really was citizen of Georgia.

Levan Berdzenishvili: “With weak Georgian opposition political parties on its background, Ivanishvili is really serious rival for Saakashvili. That’s why governmental officials act very stupidly. I mean deprivation of Ivanishvili’s citizenship which is lawfully unclear. If the man receive French Citizenship in 2004 and had his Georgian citizenship automatically annulled, how he could get Georgian ID in 2006? Saakashvili will unlikely defeat Ivanishvili with similar methods. By the way, I did not expect Saakashvili to share the opinions of pseudo-liberal friends who suggested him to annul Ivanishvili’s citizenship on Facebook. The fact that Misha is extremely afraid of rich people; it is his fault because he created senior level political corruption in Georgia. He believes he can buy everything. So, now let him sit and think over not only how to buy/sell votes, but to bother about his political team not to be sold to anybody. Ivanishvili’s statement contains similar sings.”

Apparently, the government realized they should have thoroughly clear up the date errors and reply to the questions of the society. Indeed, on October 13, the head of the CRA Giorgi Vashadze made next statement.

News agency Interpressnews published Giorgi Vashadze’s statement: “All citizens of Georgia have equal rights and obligations by law, ordinary citizens, rich or poor, President or first family members. We have already heard Bidzina Ivanishvil’s political statements earlier, though his statement on 7 October 2011 contained new information about his citizenship of France after he obtained citizenship of Georgia in 2004. His Georgian Citizenship was automatically suspended according to the Georgian law.”

Ivanishvili’s lawyer Eka Beselia responded to Vashadze’s statement and said that by this statement the government confirmed that deprivation of the Georgian citizenship from Ivanishvili is directly linked with his critical statement of October 7. Thus, it is evident the government revenges him on political grounds and acts illegally.

“I would like to remind Vashadze that only Georgian president is entitled to make similar decisions and release resolution on Georgian citizenship based on the applications of the abovementioned agency. In accordance to the Law on Citizenship of Georgia, public official shall be punished for incompetent and illegal activities in regard with citizenship issues. In his October 7 statement, Ivanishvili clearly stated that he declines his French and Russian citizenships and is ready to surrender his passports under legal procedures. This statement meant that launch of any procedure, particularly deprivation of the citizenship without Ivanishvili’s participation in the procedures, was illegal and unjustified,” said Beselia.

She added that Bidzina Ivanishvili has not yet received any documents concerning his citizenship.

“Article 13 of the General Administrative Code of Georgia  states that an administrative agency may review and solve a matter only if the interested party whose right or legal interest is restricted by the administrative decree has been enabled to present his opinion, except as provided by law. Article 98 of the same Code states that an interested party to an administrative proceeding may present evidence and the request/petition to investigate the circumstances of a case. In this particular case, Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili was not noted about the administrative proceedings and consequently the interested party has no information about legal conclusion about his citizenship,” said Beselia.

The lawyer clarified that carrying out administrative procedures against procedural norms, can become basis to annul the administrative legal act.

Beselia again called upon the corresponding institutions to provide her with all information about the legal act and deprivation of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s citizenship as it is required under the law.

She said the yesterday’s statement of the CRA’s Head openly demonstrates immature legal and political decision of the government in regard with Bidzina Ivanishvili’s citizenship.