The Public Defender of Georgia positively assesses the events developed around the Giorgi Ugulava case in light of the decision made by the Constitutional Court on 16 June 2015.

The rule of law and independent judiciary represent prerequisites for protection of human rights in a democratic country. The state is obliged to observe the mentioned prerequisites through separating competencies and functions of all branches of state authorities timely and effectively, without duplication. The state is obliged to ensure coordinated efforts of all bodies so that constitutional rights of individuals are protected.

The 16 September decision of the Constitutional Court serves strengthening of normative environment for protection of a person from arbitrary deprivation of his/her liberty. For this purpose, the Court declared unconstitutional the provision of the law, which could not fully rule out the possibility of arbitrary actions from the Government.

In addition, the 16 September decision of the Constitutional Court is not of self-executing nature, since it only refers to normative basis, while its application in individual cases should be defined by common courts, as it happened in the Giorgi Ugulava case.

Cancelation of the detention measure against Giorgi Ugulava by the City Court's decision of 17 September 2015 on the basis of the decision of the Constitutional Court is a correct legal form, by which the state restored the inviolability of a person's liberty through separation of competences and the rule of law.