2020-07-15
Amendments to the Law of Georgia on Electronic Communication are predominantly aimed at the protection of critical infrastructure and consumer rights in this sector of the country, thereby introducing and establishing effective mechanisms for the enforcement of rulings issued by the Regulation Commission. It was announced by Beka Dochviri, Parliamentary Secretary of the Government of Georgia at the Plenary Session of the Parliament in response to the questions posed by MPs after the voting held at the First Hearing of the Draft Law on Electronic Communication when commenting on the event of the day in a conversation with journalists.
In the opinion of the Parliamentary Secretary of the Government of Georgia, a number of opinions were expressed at the Committee Hearings from the side of MPs and businesses. All of them have been reflected in the Draft Law to a greater extent and the cleared version was ultimately presented at the Plenary Session.
"We are empowering the Regulation Commission with a mechanism for the enforcement of its rulings. Naturally, there will be a number of cases when the voidance of an authorization or revocation of a license will not be relevant at least for the protection of consumer interests, as well as those of the country and economy. That is why it is not justified to suspend operation of a company in every case. It would have been a more harsh measure. We have introduced a relevantly less demanding regulation, with which a Temporary Administrator will leave the company as soon as the ruling of the Regulating Commission gets executed" noted Beka Dochviri.
Parliamentary Secretary of the Government of Georgia clarified that the Draft Law has a mechanism for judicial control and ambiguous provisions have been made precise in certain components.
"No lawyer may say that a mechanism of judicial control has been removed from the Draft Law. As for the transfer of shares, it was envisaged in the original version of the Draft Law, but has been removed after accepting the opinions voiced in the Parliamentary Committees. Under the present version a Temporary Administrator will not be entitled to transfer shares. There are two mechanisms for filing a litigation case by interested parties. One implies the Regulation Commission prior to the ruling and the second is an interested party after the ruling is issued by the Regulation Commission. Provision of the Law of Georgia on Licensing and Permits has been incorporated in the present version of the Draft Law. As for the sale or transfer of shares or violation of market competition, the Regulation Commission may appoint a Temporary Administrator after sanctioning the company, however the latter may file a litigation case and let the court of law decide. However, judicial proceedings do not mean that the process will last forever. Court Ruling will be issued within 3 days under the present provisions of the Law" noted Beka Dochviri.
Press Service of the Government Administration