constitutional amendments February 2013

Escalating rhetoric between Georgia’s parliament and president

By | March 9th, 2017|Categories: Legal reform|Tags: , |

Speaker of Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A meeting summoned by the Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has become the latest episode in the downward spiral of deteriorating relations between him and the ruling Georgian Dream party. On Thursday, Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze […]

President Saakashvili signs constitutional amendments

By | October 17th, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: , |

President Mikheil Saakashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The constitutional amendments which reduce the power of the prime minister have come into force, after the president signed a bill which was passed by parliament on October 4. The amendment is published on the website of the legal gazette, matsne […]

Georgians support constitutional amendment

By | April 16th, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: , |

TBILISI, DFWatch–Most Georgians agree with a new constitutional amendment, which was recently passed and reduced the rights of the president. People also support an initiative to reverse a decision to have parliament in the country’s second biggest city Kutaisi, […]

Parliament waiting for Saakashvili to sign constitution

By | March 26th, 2013|Categories: Elections '12-'13, News|Tags: , |

Speaker of Parliament Davit Usupashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The governing coalition in Georgia says parliament will listen to President Mikheil Saakashvili’s annual address as soon as a set of recently passed constitutional amendments are signed into law and enforced. February 8, Saakashvili should have […]

Constitutional amendments are finally passed

By | March 26th, 2013|Categories: Elections '12-'13, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–The constitutional amendments which reduce the powers of President Mikheil Saakashvili were passed on Monday by 114 votes against 0 at the third and final hearing. When the amendments come into force, the president can no longer change […]

Georgian tug of war on constitution ends in compromise

By | March 22nd, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili’s coalition Thursday accepted a demand from President Mikheil Saakashvili’s National Movement party, which let it pass a set of constitutional amendments which reduces the rights of the president. After the […]

Constitutional amendments may fail

By | March 21st, 2013|Categories: Elections '12-'13, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–The constitutional amendments to limit the president’s power to dismiss parliament may fail to be passed. The reason is that Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvivi’s Georgian Dream coalition lacks the votes to pass the amendments, while Saakashvili’s […]

Saakashvili’s party agrees to constitutional changes

By | March 20th, 2013|Categories: Elections '12-'13, News|Tags: |

Member of Parliament Davit Bakradze says the National Movement party will give exactly as many votes to the governing coalition as it needs. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–President Mikheil Saakashvili’s party has agreed to support a set of the constitutional amendments which will limit the powers of the president, but only if Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili’s coalition lacks the required votes. The Georgian […]

Lawmakers start work on constitutional amendments

By | March 18th, 2013|Categories: Elections '12-'13, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–Parliament in Georgia will today start reviewing a draft bill for amending the constitution and reduce the president’s right to dismiss the government any time he wants without confirmation from the parliament. The bill, which is signed by 78 MPs, […]

Constitutional amendments may be modified

By | March 11th, 2013|Categories: Elections '12-'13, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–A draft law already presented to parliament which will reduce the powers of the president may be amended. According to the draft of constitutional changes, if the president dismisses parliament and government, he won’t have the right to himself […]

Georgian parliament to debate foreign policy constitution

By | February 18th, 2013|Categories: Elections '12-'13, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–Lawmakers in Georgia today start debating whether to write its foreign policy into the constitution, and if so, how many details of it. Foremost among issues likely to end up in the constitution is EU and NATO membership aspirations. The bill, […]

Agreement about reducing powers of president

By | February 16th, 2013|Categories: Elections '12-'13, News|Tags: , |

TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian Dream coalition and the National Movement Party agree to reduce the powers of the president. This will need immediate enforcement of that part of the constitution which applies to the powers of the president and which should have been […]

Georgia to have constitution define NATO and EU wish

By | February 15th, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: , |

Manana Kobakhidze, Vice Speaker of Parliament. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The governing coalition in Georgia accepts a demand made by President Saakashvili’s National Movement party to write the country’s foreign policy course into the constitution. This means that Georgia’s aspirations to become a member of NATO […]

What Constitutions are not about and what foreign policy is about

By | February 13th, 2013|Categories: Opinion|Tags: , |

Tedo Japaridze is chairman of parliament’s foreign affairs committee. Polemical reflections on the UNM’s proposal for the constitutionalization of Georgian Foreign Policy Constitutions are binding principles that are non-negotiable in the context of a polity. This is why principles enshrined in a Constitution set minimum benchmarks, […]