2022 Activity Report of the Special Investigation Service

2022 Activity Report of the Special Investigation Service

Paragraph 4 of the 12-point recommendations of the European Commission refers to the institutional strengthening and independence of the Special Investigation Service. For this purpose, the Special Investigation Service was actively involved in working group activities created by the Legal Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia.

On September 30, 2022, the Service submitted written opinions to the Parliament of Georgia on which basis legislative amendments were made for ensuring effective implementation of the increased investigative mandate, addressing the need for institutional development and obtaining more guarantees for functional independence.

Based on legislative amendments the mandate of the Service expanded and granted the authority to investigate violations of the ECHR or its additional protocols established by the European Court of Human Rights. This will allow the country to successfully fulfill the positive obligation and subject the investigation of violent crimes committed by public officials to an independent investigative mechanism.

Further, the SIS’s competencies now also include investigation of crimes identified in the process of investigation of ill-treatment, related to the possible destruction of evidence by the law-enforcement officers, illegal detention, exceeding official powers and forgery by an official (Articles 147, 332, 333, 341 and 369¹ provided by CCG). According to the amendments violent crimes related to elections (Articles 162-163 and 164⁴) now fall under the Service’s jurisdiction if they are committed by law-enforcement officers.

It should be outlined that based on the amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Georgia, the Head of the SIS may request a hearing at a relevant committee to increase the effectiveness of the SIS’s activities, including initiating legislative amendments.

The Service will continue to work with the Parliament of Georgia and all other interested stakeholders tostrengthen the independent investigation mechanism and ensure its independence.