COE: More Reforms Needed to Prevent Corruption
Georgia should continue reforms to prevent corruption among parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors, says new Council of Europe report.
STRASBOURG - In a report published today, the Council of Europe's anti-corruption body, Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), acknowledged considerable progress in reducing corruption in Georgia and improving the country’s standing in international indices, and called on the Georgian authorities to continue implementing the reforms aimed at preventing corruption among parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors.
Among the positive developments noted by GRECO is the introduction of a monitoring mechanism for submitting asset declarations by public officials including parliamentarians, judges and high-level prosecutors. It is crucial now that the new rules be extended to cover all prosecutors, that they are effectively applied in practice and kept under constant review.
GRECO noted measures taken to prevent corruption among the members of parliament and increase accountability of their work, and recommends further enhancing transparency of the legislative process through the publication of all draft legislation, and developing an enforceable code of ethics/conduct. It also called for mandatory disclosure of parliamentarians’ conflicts of interest, in order to monitor and determine when and how personal interests of MPs might influence the decision-making process.
GRECO stressed the need to carry on with the important reform of the judiciary. It is of prime importance that the bill on the third stage of reform which is pending before the Parliament should now be adopted and implemented. GRECO recommends reforming the recruitment, promotion and transfer of judges, introducing an objective and transparent system for the allocation of cases (e.g. via random assignment), defining more precisely disciplinary offences, and limiting immunity of judges to activities related to their participation in judicial decision-making (”functional immunity”).
GRECO welcomed the recently launched reform of the prosecution service with the view of de-politicising it. Now the reform must be effectively implemented and possibly followed by additional measures to further reduce the influence of the government and parliamentary majority on the appointment procedure of the Chief Prosecutor and on the activity of the Prosecutorial Council. GRECO also recommends further regulating the recruitment and promotion of prosecutors as well as case management and internal instructions, and reviewing the disciplinary regime applicable to prosecutors.
By the end of June 2018, the authorities of Georgia are to report back on measures taken to implement the 16 recommendations included in this report. GRECO will then assess the implementation of the recommendations in a compliance report in the second half of 2018.
See an EXCLUSIVE interview with co-author of the report, Mr. Michael Jannsen from the GRECO Secretariat in the next issue of GEORGIA TODAY
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The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) is a Council of Europe body that aims to improve the capacity of its members to fight corruption by monitoring their compliance with anti-corruption standards. It helps states to identify deficiencies in national anti-corruption policies, prompting the necessary legislative, institutional and practical reforms. Currently it comprises the 47 Council of Europe member states, Belarus and the United States of America.