At the government’s initiative, planned changes to the diplomatic service will be discussed in parliamentary committees tomorrow. The bill is also expected to be submitted to the plenary session for a first reading on the same day.
The amendments are being made to the Law on the Diplomatic Service, prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the draft, new provisions are being added to the values and principles of the diplomatic service, which will be mandatory for employees in the diplomatic service to ensure adherence to its principles, public interest, ethics, and general rules of conduct.
In addition, a new regulation will define grounds for early termination of a rotation-based assignment in diplomatic or consular missions. Under this rule, a violation of the ethics and general rules of conduct approved by an administrative-legal act of the Minister—if such a violation may harm the country's interests and image or contradict the main directions of foreign policy as defined by the Parliament of Georgia and the interests of the Ministry—will be grounds for early recall of the diplomat.
Persons recalled early from long-term assignments due to violations of ethics and conduct will be added to the list of individuals eligible for the diplomatic service reserve.
Another novelty in the proposed changes is that diplomatic officials employed in the diplomatic service (excluding political appointees and those in positions defined by the rules of diplomatic service), as well as administrative staff, will undergo performance evaluations at least twice a year—unlike the current law, which requires only one evaluation per year.
The bill also provides for the extension of the rotation term for heads of diplomatic missions, diplomatic officials, and administrative personnel by up to one year instead of the current six months.
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