Public Defender’s Statement on Changes Ongoing in Office
On December 27, 2017, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria held a summarizing press conference of 2017. The Public Defender spoke about the first steps taken by her, institutional development strategy and future plans, emphasizing the priority directions of the Office. She noted that the structure of the annual parliamentary report on the situation of human rights and freedoms is planned to be improved to make the report more easily comprehensible and useful for persons concerned.
Nino Lomjaria also spoke about the decisions made by her, including the 21 December order, according to which, the Mercedes-Benz GLA-class vehicle owned by the Public Defender's Office has been handed over to the Service Agency of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, as the Public Defender cannot see the need for keeping a vehicle of such model and properties under the ownership of the Office, especially given that the cost of maintenance of the vehicle increases annually, which unjustifiably damages the Office’s budget. It should also be taken into consideration that the purchase of the vehicle in March 2016 was followed by negative reactions of the public and media that lasted for a long time.
According to the procedure, the Service Agency will sell a car through auction and transfer the received money to the central budget.
The court disputes initiated by the Public Defender's employees caused high public interest as well. It is noteworthy that all the four employees, who had filed suits against the Public Defender's Office, made a decision to withdraw the suits, which is praised by the Public Defender, saying that such a constructive attitude will facilitate creation of a favorable working environment.
The Public Defender executed the decision of the Supreme Court of Georgia and reinstituted I.Ch., who was dismissed in 2016, as the Head of the Department of Case Proceedings.
At the beginning of next month, the Public Defender will introduce new deputies, who will guide specific spheres as well as administrative issues.