During the last one week, the Parliament of Georgia adopted important legislative changes, some of which, according to the Public Defender's assessment, do not comply with the standards of human rights protection, - this was stated in the statement of the Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani.

In the statement of Levan Ioseliyan, it is noted that despite the essential nature of the legislative changes, this legislative process was carried out in an accelerated manner, without the involvement of the interested public or relevant field specialists, which generally damages the legislative process and is not welcome.

"Regarding the content of the implemented legislative changes, the Parliament of Georgia discussed the changes to be introduced in the Law of Georgia "On Public Service". Although the Committee on Legal Issues shared the opinions presented by the Public Defender during the committee review at the first hearing regarding the grounds of reorganization, it is unfortunate that with the finally adopted legislative project, the persons dismissed from the public service due to reorganization will no longer have the right to request reinstatement in the public service, which will put them in an unequal position with the officials dismissed on other grounds.

In addition, during the second reading, new amendments were presented, according to which the head of the primary structural unit and his deputy will no longer be considered professional civil servants, they will be appointed by an administrative contract, and this significantly reduces the guarantees of the protection of the labor rights of these persons and contradicts the principles of the civil service itself, such as employment based on career progression, merit and stability. At the same time, these regulations will apply to legal entities under the public law of Georgia, to persons employed at a similar level.

In the same week, the law was amended to ban the wearing of masks during demonstrations. Although many Western countries know such restrictions, in most cases both the legislation of these countries, international human rights standards, and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights indicate that this prohibition is not unconditional and blanket. It is important in this case that the legislation maintains a balance between freedom of expression and the interests of security protection.

Also, changes were made to the "Code of Administrative Violations", according to which the fines for already established individual violations were significantly increased and in some cases additional administrative imprisonment was imposed. Taking into account the financial situation of the population in Georgia, this may be a heavy burden for individuals", - it is mentioned in the statement.