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Constitutional Court rejected the lawsuit filed by SAIA against the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture
The Constitutional Court did not accept the constitutional claim of the Young Lawyers' Association. According to the lawsuit, SAIA demanded annulment of the government decision, under which, the public hearings and participation in the environmental decision making process were temporarily suspended due to the state of emergency. The court found, that the claim was unfounded.
The Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Nino Tandilashvili declared, that court explained to the plaintiff, that public participation in the decision-making process may take place in various forms, including, writing a letter, or using various technical tools, via internet etc...
" The principle of publicity and transparency has not been violated, while issuing permits , although, to ensure the health of our population in the current pandemic crisis, the form of public engagement was changed. The Young Lawyers' Association sued Georgian government for temporally suspending public hearings and public gatherings. These allegations made by the Young Lawyers' Association and environmental NGOs are unfounded and unacceptable to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.
It is unacceptable to spread similar unfair and defamatory statements through media and social networks. The main goal of ongoing and planned reforms for environmental regulations is to establish and implement European standards, increase public engagement and raise environmental awareness ”said Nino Tandilashvili.
According to the Deputy Minister, despite the emergency situation caused by the pandemic, economic activities and implementation of infrastructure projects in certain areas have not been delayed, through efforts made by Georgian Government together with the relevant agencies. Accordingly, permits are issued to continue implementation of these activities and projects, which, in some cases, is carried out by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture as well.
" It is impossible to hold public hearings in the state of emergency, when we all should maintain the social distance, therefore, Ministry uses all possible tools and mechanisms to provide society with the information about planned projects.
In addition to the documents submitted to the Ministry, the short presentation is uploaded and released on the website of the Ministry, which is sent to the relevant municipalities and is available for public access; information is available both electronically and in the material request form. Moreover, information is provided and spread in the relevant municipalities, through grocery stores, pharmacy chains and medical facilities. During the mentioned period, in the decision-making process, the Ministry has taken into account a number of specific remarks as well as public opinions while working on the scheme”said Nino Tandilashvili.