Special Commission Selects Surveillance Agency Head
A special commission, comprised of the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court, Chair of the Legal Issues Committee, Head of the Defense and Security Committee, Chairman of Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee, Parliamentary Secretary of the Government of Georgia and the Head of the State Security Service (SSS), have selected the Head of the newly established Surveillance Agency.
The commission discussed many candidates but finally chose Koba Kobidze for the post, whose candidacy has been sent to the Prime Minister (PM) of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, for approval.
Kobidze worked as the Deputy Head of the Operative-Technical Agency of the State Security Service of Georgia, which carried out covert surveillance before the new agency was established following the new surveillance draft bill adopted by parliament on March 1.
The legislative package includes provisions for the creation of a legal entity of public law (LEPL), the Operative-Technical Agency of Georgia, to be responsible for covert surveillance.
The agency is under the supervision of the SSS and is also accountable to the PM, having to submit a generalized report of its activities annually.
The responsibilities of the agency include hidden surveillance of phone communication, retrieving information from computer systems, control of post office transfers, secret audio and video surveillance and photographic surveillance.
The new bill on covert investigative actions became necessary after the Constitutional Court of Georgia ruled on April 14, 2016, that the existing model of surveillance, with the Interior Ministry and Personal Data Protection Inspector as key players, needed to be changed.
The court stated that the existing legislation, which allowed the police to have direct and unrestricted access to telecom operators’ networks to monitor communications, was unconstitutional and set a deadline of March 31, 2017, to implement the court’s decision and replace the existing surveillance law with a new one.
However, now that the new entity has been established, the opposition, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the Public Defender of Georgia are appealing the law on covert surveillance, claiming that the changes are not in line with the verdict of the Constitutional Court and that the key to surveillance remains still in the hands of the SSS.
The Presidential Administration also disapproves of the surveillance law. President Giorgi Margvelashvili vetoed the bill on March 20 when Parliament sent the draft to him to be signed. However, after two days, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) MPs were able to override the presidential veto.
Otar Kakhidze, member of the parliamentary minority European Georgia says that the process of choosing the head of the agency was managed by the SSS. He says the new agency is like the previous one and is in control of the State Security Service.
"The law, which was adopted by GD, contradicts the decision of the Constitutional Court, which states that this agency should not belong to the Security Service…The appointment of Kobidze also indicates that the agency is under the control of the SSS and will fulfill political orders. The head of the Agency was presented by the head of the SSS and, accordingly, the process was led by the State Security Service," Kakhidze stressed.
The head of the commission, Vakhtang Gomelauri, says the process of selecting candidates was held objectively.
“The commission session was held according to the law. Among many applicants, three best candidates were selected, one of which was chosen to head the agency,” Gomelauri says.
The ruling party says the new agency is independent, is line with the verdict of the Constitutional Court and that the main positive side of it is that it is not authorized to carry out investigative actions.
Thea Morrison