CSOs Seek Involvement in Public Defender’s Selection Process

We would like to respond to the statements related to the selection of Georgian Public Defender and call on the Parliament of Georgia to ensure civil society participation in the process of selecting the main human rights defender of the country.

It is well-known to everyone that according to legislation, a Public Defender may be nominated by a parliamentary faction or by a group of at least six lawmakers, who do not belong to any faction. Despite it, civil society organizations had always participated in the discussions related to the election of Georgian Public Defender.

As far as we know, following the elections, the Parliament of Georgia will launch the process of selecting the Public Defender. We suppose that participation of all stakeholders in this process will be of paramount importance. A number of documents, including the Action Plan of the Open Parliament of Georgia, envisages active participation of civil society in decision making.  Such promises gain importance just during such processes, as Public Defender's elections.

Thus, we call on the Parliament of Georgia and especially, on the parliamentary majority group to ensure the involvement of human rights watchdogs, universities and civil society in the process of Public Defender's election.

Signatures by:

• International Society for Free Elections and Democracy -ISFED 
• Georgian Young Lawyer’s Association - GYLA 
• Open Society Georgia, Foundation - OSGF 
• Transparency International - Georgia 
• CIDA 
• Institute for Development and Freedom of Information IDFI
• Economic Policy Research Center EPRC
• Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center -EMC 
• Article 42 of the Constitution 
• Liberal Academy
• Public Movement for Multinational Georgia PMMG
•  Human Rights Center