GEORGIA: AND JUSTICE FOR ALL--THE NEW POWER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 002494 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2018 TAGS: PGOV PHUM GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA: AND JUSTICE FOR ALL--THE NEW POWER MINISTRY Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (U) Summary: In October, amendments to the Constitution of Georgia officially authorized the merger of the Prosecution Service of Georgia with the Ministry of Justice. The Probation and Penitentiary Department, National Forensics Bureau and Legal Aid services, which formerly were subordinate to the Ministry of Justice, will now become separate entities. Although the details explaining the justification of the merger are scant, those who are familiar with the ministry say the merger has been in the works since ¶2004. For some, the merger cements the Ministry of Justice's status as a "power ministry," on the same level as that of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A recent press article suggested some cross-fertilization -- i.e., the transplanting of MOIA Minister Merabishvili protgs into the new Prosecutorial Service -- as a precursor to a possible power struggle between MOIA and MOJ as they carve out their respective roles. The future of the new separate entities also remains unclear. End Summary. The New Setup ¶2. (U) According to a non-paper circulated by the Ministry of Justice, the merger is the final step in completing reform initiated in 2004. The Prosecution service will now be institutionally subordinate to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). The law on the Prosecution Service guarantees that no government body or official, including the prime minister and the president, can repeal legal acts issued by the Minister of Justice and/or officials of the Prosecution Service. Thus, the new institutional framework balances prosecutorial independence vis-a-vis accountability and transparency in the formation of criminal justice policy. According to Georgian law, the Minister of Justice is appointed by the Prime Minister, with the consent of the President and approval of Parliament. Zurab Adeishvili, who has served previously both as Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General, was recently announced as the new Minister of Justice. The Chief Prosecutor, Mamuka Gvaramia, was nominated by the Minister of Justice and appointed by the President of Georgia. ¶3. (C) On December 3, Emboffs met with Archil Giorgadze and Tamar Tomashvil, who previously worked at the Prosecutor's Human Rights Department. Since the merger, their department has been eliminated and the work distributed among other departments. The MOJ's Department of Public International Law, of which Giorgadze is the Deputy Head, now works on human rights and trafficking-in-persons issues, as well as international relations. Some of the functions of the former Human Rights Department in the previous Prosecutor General's office were also delegated to the General Inspection Department, which supervises investigations, implementation of laws and procedural issues. MOIA and MOJ--the Power Couple ¶4. (C) On December 3, Alia, a gossipy Georgian tabloid, featured an article on the relationships between MOIA and MOJ, musing aloud about the recent appointees. The article suggested that some recent appointments within the Prosecution Service -- Gvaramia and David Sakvarelidze (Deputy Prosecutor) -- are rewards for past work on high-profile cases. Gvaramia was involved in two cases -- Pridon Injia and Giorgi Sanaia -- during the Shevardnadze era, and Sakvarelidze instituted criminal charges against Mikhail Kareli (former Shida Kartli governor),Vasil Makharashvili (mayor of Gori) and Marlen Nadiradze (chairman of the Gori City Council). Giorgi Chkheidze, Georgian Young Qof the Gori City Council). Giorgi Chkheidze, Georgian Young Lawyers Association, told Emboff that most people were surprised that neither Nick Gvaramia (appointed Minister of Education on December 10 -- no known relation to Mamuka) nor Giorgi Latsabidze (former acting prosecutor general) was tapped as prosecutor general. The Alia article portrays Mamuka's appointment as a victory for one of Merabishvili's protgs and a loss for Giga Bokeria, First Deputy Foreign Minister, whose personal pick was Nick Gvaramia. The same article in Alia attributes the selection of Mamuka to a handshake deal between Merabishvili and Adeishvili to do some cross-pollination between the two organizations. Probation and Penitentiary Ministry ¶5. (C) According to the reorganization plan, the Probation and Penitentiary Service will become an independent entity as of January 1, 2009, and the head of the service will be a cabinet-level minister. The prison system has chronic problems, and building new prisons does not seem to have addressed the overcrowding effectively. On December 16, Bacho Akhalaia, was appointed a Deputy Minister of Defense, TBILISI 00002494 002 OF 002 leaving his role as Head of the Probation and Penitentiary Service. Akhalaia is a controversial figure whose involvement in quelling prison riots in 2006 is questionable. Who will head the new Ministry following his departure remains unclear. Legal Aid Services ¶6. (C) Chkheidze told Emboff that the Legal Aid Service was previously subordinate to MOJ, but this subordination was due to inertia rather than a fully thought-out plan. Beginning in 2011, the Legal Aid Service plans to provide services for indigent persons in civil and administrative cases. The Legal Aid Service is entrusted with the coordination of legal aid throughout the country, and its future subordination is the subject of active debate within the Legal Committee in Parliament. The MOJ is currently preparing a draft law on the future subordination of the Legal Aid Services, due out in March 2009. Emboffs attending the November 6 Legal Committee hearings noted that the meeting was chaired by the deputy chairman of the Committee, and the deputy minister of justice also helped lead the discussion. Many NGOs that work on rule-of-law programs also participated in the discussion. Most NGOs seemed to agree that the Legal Aid Service should be a free-standing entity or attached in some way to the Ombudsman's Office. The deputy chair and the deputy minister, however, advocated attaching it to the Penitentiary Department. Most NGOs pointed out that the image of Legal Aid Services will be a poor one if attached to the department responsible for detention and imprisonment. This arrangement would hardly support the notion of independence and equality. In addition, the service would presumably be responsible for representing persons accused of crimes committed within the jails and prisons or while on probation, and there would therefore appear to be a clear conflict of interest. National Forensics Bureau (NFB) ¶7. (C) Under the new law to take force January 1, 2009, the head of the NFB will be appointed by the president of Georgia and will be a separate entity. This move is based on the recommendation of UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak. Post has advocated since 2006 for an independent government institution with oversight by a board of directors comprised of participating ministries. Past problems associated with the NFB have been a reluctance on the part of the MOIA to agree on sharing caseloads and issues stemming from the assignment of responsibilities for various forensics functions to one ministry. To date, the NFB has received more than 3 million U.S. dollars in U.S. technical assistance. An efficient forensics bureau will be key in the collection and preservation of evidence linked to criminal investigations under the new Criminal Procedure Code. Given the NFB's new status and receipt of significant USG assistance, it is hoped that the NFB will be empowered to play a more significant role in the criminal justice process. The Usual Suspects ¶8. (C) Lia Mukhashvria, Human Rights Lawyer and former member of human rights organization Article 42, told Emboff that her take is that nothing is new, even with the proposed changes. The same people are in the same positions (in particular Adeishvili),so combining these functions now does not make the process more transparent, even if it will streamline the bureaucracy. For Mukhashvria, the major concern is that the chief prosecutor will not be accountable to anyone and cannot be called before Parliament. Chkheidze, on the other hand, considers the merger part of a natural Qon the other hand, considers the merger part of a natural progression, envisioned in legislation from 2005 and 2007 and in approved action plans. In principle, it could be very impressive. Chkheidze cited Adeishvili's superb managerial skills as the key, which would have the ministry running like a top. With regards to the soundness of the merger, Chkheidze pointed out to the Legal Committee that the justification of "that is the way it is in the U.S. and many European countries" was not sound reasoning alone and needed to be revisited. Ikali Kotetishvili, who works on the staff of the Prosecution Service, told Emboff that the decision was purely a political one. The Venice Commission is also concerned with the merger. According to Kotetishvili, three Georgian MPs will travel to Italy to discuss the merger in the wider context of judicial transparency. TEFFT