2020-03-22
Parliamentary Secretary of the Government Beka Dochviri presented to Parliament the motion on the declaration of a state of emergency, which was sent by the prime minister to the president.
As the parliamentary secretary of the government stated during his speech to the legislative body, the country is at the stage where issuing recommendations is not sufficient, and we do not have the luxury to depend solely on the civic responsibility of citizens.
"Therefore, we addressed the president to declare a state of emergency on the entire territory of Georgia for the duration of one month," Beka Dochviri stated.
According to him, under a state of emergency, all the measures deemed necessary by the Government of Georgia to minimize the spread of the virus and to ensure its prevention will be implemented in an effective and timely manner.
"I would like to inform you of the reasons why we addressed the president with a motion to declare a state of emergency. As you are aware, the Government of Georgia implemented preventive measures to avoid and reduce the spread of the virus from the very first minutes. Initially, on 28 January 2020, the decree of the Government of Georgia was already drawn up, which instructed the relevant government agencies to take specific actions. The first case of the coronavirus was reported in Georgia only one month later, in February 2020. The Government of Georgia also implemented numerous preventive measures - the tuition process was postponed in educational institutions, and the spring military conscription was postponed until 13 April 2020 as well. The Government of Georgia also issued recommendations on a near-daily basis, urging the citizens of Georgia to take specific actions," Beka Dochviri stated.
The parliamentary secretary of the government also discussed the restrictions envisaged by the decree in the legislative body. As Beka Dochviri explained, the Government of Georgia is granted certain powers, provided that the principles of action are indicated in the decree, and the precise nature of the implementation of the principles of action indicated in the decree is determined by the resolution of the Government of Georgia.
"As the president of Georgia noted, the decree restricts certain rights, specifically - Articles13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, and 26 of the Constitution. This has been done to ensure the effective implementation of the powers granted by the decree. It should also be taken into consideration that the decree is only valid during a state of emergency, i.e., for a limited period. Correspondingly, it is no longer valid once the state of emergency has expired.
The decree also defines the specific sanctions that will be imposed on persons or legal entities if they fail to comply with the powers as defined by the decree or governmental resolution. On the first stage, this is a sanction in the form of a fine, while on the next stage, criminal liability is envisaged," the parliamentary secretary of government stated.
Press Service of the Government Administration