On February 13th, the Open Society Georgia Foundation and the Ministry of Justice held a roundtable discussion on a new Freedom of Information Law in Courtyard by Marriott.
The participants discussed the process of elaborating a draft law on freedom of information and focused on the concept of the new law and action plans.
Invited experts highlighted the gaps in the current law. Norms regulating the access to public information are scattered over various legislative acts.
Adoption of a special law includes the elimination of legislative gaps and unification of regulations on public information in one standard act. This will establish a new standard for government transparency and emphasize the Government’s policy of openness and public administration.
Keti Khutsishvili, Executive Director of “Open Society – Georgia” Foundation said that due to the gaps and poorly defined norms in the current law, access to public information is prevented. Therefore, the Ministry of Justice and the NGO sector are ready to work on a new act. This will be a very interesting process.
Aleksandre Baramidze, Deputy Minister of Justice, said that the Government of Georgia has done a lot in terms of proactive disclosure of public information. However, there are still many gaps. The major goal of this roundtable discussion is to submit the action plan – he said.
The Ministry of Justice will coordinate the development of the law. The process will be conducted in close collaboration with NGOs. All interested parties will have the opportunity to participate in it.