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2008 Assessment

Georgia: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Georgia: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Whistle-blowing Measures
Indicators		Score
48	Are employees protected from recrimination or other negative consequences when reporting corruption (i.e. whistle-blowing)?	38
49	Is there an internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption?	100
50	In practice, is the internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption effective?	25

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are employees protected from recrimination or other negative consequences when reporting corruption (i.e. whistle-blowing)?

48a: In law, civil servants who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are protected from recrimination or other negative consequences.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on Organized Crime Georgian Criminal Procedure Code

48b: In practice, civil servants who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are protected from recrimination or other negative consequences.

Score:

100

Comments: The legislation is rather new and it is too early to judge its effectiveness. There were no cases reported yet.

References: There have been no media reports.

48c: In law, private sector employees who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are protected from recrimination or other negative consequences.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Appropriate provisions absent from Law on Organized Crime Georgian Criminal Procedure Code

Peer Review Comments: According to the law, there is a general clause on protection. Law on Freedom of Expression 2004.

48d: In practice, private sector employees who report cases of corruption, graft, abuse of power, or abuse of resources are protected from recrimination or other negative consequences.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: There have been no media reports. There are no regulations.

Peer Review Comments: There are no reported cases of pressure, and I will just assume the same score here as the score for public officials.

Is there an internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption?

49: In law, is there an internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption?

Score:

YES

Comments: There is a hot-line of the General Prosecutor's Office. There are internal inspectorates in most state institutions, where civil servants can report crimes of corruption.

References: Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia Law on Procuracy

In practice, is the internal mechanism (i.e. phone hotline, e-mail address, local office) through which civil servants can report corruption effective?

50a: In practice, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: IGs are not independent in Georgia, they are under the arms of ministers or the General Prosecutor. Thus its effectiveness is hindered. There is a lack of staff and formalistic approach to the problems. Mostly they are covering minor administrative violations by their colleagues.

References: See report of the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association on the effectiveness of Internal monitoring mechanisms at htp://www.gyla.ge/foi

Peer Review Comments: The inspector general's (IG) offices do not have enough staff, and the IG is dependent on the minister and his political will. The fact that there is no notion political and non-political appointees in the civil service leads to a surefire staff turnover with each new minister.

50b: In practice, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption receives regular funding.

Score:

100

Comments: There are no delays in allocation of funds, but the problem is the lack of funds and inadequacy of human and material capacity in their hands.

References: See ABA report on IGs

Peer Review Comments: In most ministries -- except in the Ministry of Finance (MOF), MIA, and GPO) -- the Inspector General's budgets do not have separate line items and, therefore, their funding is unreliable.

50c: In practice, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption acts on complaints within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: By law, there is a 30 day-procedure for reacting to any complaint. In many cases, however, the IG simply doesn't respond. I have submitted a complaint myself, and for six month have received no reply from the IG of the General Prosecutor's Office.

References: There have been no media reports, as no outlet thinks their actions are serious and interesting.

50d: In practice, when necessary, the internal reporting mechanism for public sector corruption initiates investigations.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: When irregularities are discovered, the agency/entity is aggressive in investigating the government or in cooperating with other agencies\' investigations. <p>50 Score Criteria: The agency/entity starts investigations, but is limited in its effectiveness. The agency/entity may be slow to act, unwilling to take on politically powerful offenders, reluctant to cooperate with other investigative agencies, or occasionally unable to enforce its judgments. <p>0 Score Criteria: The agency/entity does not effectively investigate. The agency/entity may start investigations but not complete them, may refuse to cooperate with other investigative agencies, or may fail to detect offenders. The agency/entity may be partisan in its application of power.$

Comments: No noticeable cases have been covered by the IG. The ordinary procedure goes through the General Prosecutor's Office or MIA Constitution Protection Unit.

References: Interview with the chairman of the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association See 2007, part 2, report of the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association on monitoring internal mechanisms and corruption: [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: The cases are initiated by internal agencies and then transferred to other units.