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2007 Assessment

Georgia: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Georgia: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Civil Society Organizations
Indicators		Score
1	Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?	100
2	Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?	83
3	Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?	33
4	Can citizens organize into trade unions?	75

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?

1a: In law, citizens have a right to form civil society organizations (CSOs) focused on anti-corruption or good governance.

Score:

YES

Comments: There is no distinction in law as to the goals of CSOs. Any organization can be freely formed and registered, at a low cost.

References: Constitution of Georgia, article 26 Civil Code of Georgia, Chapter II: Legal Persons, adopted in 1997, as amended in December 2006

1b: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are free to accept funding from any foreign or domestic sources.

Score:

YES

Comments: No distinction as to the goals of the organization.

References: Civil Code of Georgia, Chapter II: Legal Persons, adopted in 1997, as amended in December 2006 Law of Georgia on Grants, from 1996

Peer Review Comments: Nevertheless, there is no practice of funding such CSOs from domestic sources.

1c: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are required to disclose their sources of funding.

Score:

YES

Comments: All information is sent to the Ministry of Finances of Georgia. There is no requirment for publishing sources of funding but legally speaking it is public information.

References: Civil Code of Georgia, Chapter II: Legal Persons, adopted in 1997, as amended in December 2006 General principles of the Tax Code of Georgia

Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?

2a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to the organization of new anti-corruption/good governance CSOs.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: No media or other reports exist about government creating problems for the organization of any CSO. The only problem is with funding, due to strong lobbying of the government for their favorite organizations.

Peer Review Comments: I agree with the social scientist's comment that there are no reports published about the government creating barriers to the organization of any type of CSOs. While there are some CSOs that the GOG are more eager to work with, there have not been any reports about the GOG explicitly lobbying these preferred CSOs to donor organizations. If anything, this might be a problem with donor organizations or donor governments "self-censoring" themselves.

Peer Review Comments: The government does not create barriers for establishing and functioning of such CSOs, but there are problems with accessibility to state agencies for these kind of CSOs. Cooperation with these CSOs is selective.

2b: In practice, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs actively engage in the political and policymaking process.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: No other force in the state, other than the rulling party, has any influence on policymaking in Georgia. However, there are several strong NGOs that are active and trying to influence public opinion - mainly Georgian Young Lawyers' Association and TI.

Peer Review Comments: TI and other NGOs are very active in Georgian politics.

Peer Review Comments: International organizations have substantial influence on policymaking in Georgia. One should not underestimate the impact that select foreign governments have on Georgian policymaking. However, this impact is more visible in some policy areas (where these foreign governments' interests lie).

I agree that GYLA very actively tries to influence policymaking. I disagree with a comment on TI. The TI-Georgia office could be more active in advocating for better AC measures as well as educating the public on their rights. If TI activities do not have an impact on policymaking, some of the blame should be shared by the organization.

One of the organizations that has been successful in maintaining its independence and still influencing policymaking is UNA Georgia. Another organization is Human Rights Protection Center in Batumi (Adjara Republic).

Peer Review Comments: Government cooperation with CSOs is selective, and it is based on the degree of their loyalty to the government.

2c: In practice, no anti-corruption/good governance CSOs have been shut down by the government for their work on corruption-related issues during the study period.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned is there were no CSOs shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of their work on corruption-related issues during the study period. NO: A NO score is earned if any CSO has been effectively shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of its work on corruption-related issues during the study period. The causal relationship between the cessation of operations and the CSO\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the CSO was forced to cease operations due to its work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: There were no NGOs shut down by the government in Georgia since independence.

References: No reports about such developments exist.

Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?

3a: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no CSO activists imprisoned because of their work covering corruption. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if any activist was jailed in relation to work covering corruption. The causal relationship between the official charges and the person\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the person was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Georgian media reported that since the summer of 2006 four members of the Egalitarian Institute fighting abuse of power and corruption were arrested. See reports of the Observatory: www.fidh-omct.org

3b: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists covering corruption being assaulted in the specific study period. A YES score can be earned if there was an attack but it was clearly unrelated to the activist\'s work. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period of assault to an activist who covers corruption. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

Peer Review Comments: There was a case of the beating of Valeri Gelashvili (MP), who had accused the National Movement Party and its leadership of abuse of power. This case has not been investigated.

3c: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists being killed because of their work covering corruption in the specific study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period where a person was killed related to a corruption trial, scandal or investigation. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s history may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is reasonable that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: No media reports exist.

Can citizens organize into trade unions?

4a: In law, citizens have a right to organize into trade unions.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Constitution of Georgia, Article 26 Georgian Law on Trade Unions from 1997

Peer Review Comments: Also see the new Labor Code.

4b: In practice, citizens are able to organize into trade unions.

Score:

100

Comments: While adopting the controversial Labor Code, trade unions protested in support of workers rights.

References: Law on Trade Unions. see at: [ LINK ]

Numerous interviews with the head of independent trade union in the fall 2006 were broadcast by all national TV channels and published in every Georgian newspaper. Why the costs of votion have been cut by half newpaper Rezonansi, Mari Otarashvili, 13 June 2007 Subbordinates of Kakha Lomaia (Minister of Education) demand money from the candidates of headmasters, Newspaper New Version, Nino Kharshiladze, 08 June, 2007 Both articles are about the activities of teachers trade unions

Peer Review Comments: The problem with Georgia's labor unions is not government repression but their own inability to mobilize workers.

Peer Review Comments: When rating this item, one should consider the role that trade or professional unions played in Soviet times. At that time, people were forced to be in a union and the membership fees were docked from their salaries. Only those members who were connected to the heads of the union or the Communist Party were able to receive the benefits. The lower score in this section is influenced by those past experiences.