The Parliament summoned by the President is required to sit

On July 18, 2022, at the request of a part of the parliamentary opposition, the President of Georgia convened an extraordinary session of the Parliament. However, the session is unable to start due to a manipulative interpretation provided by the parliamentary majority. Meanwhile, the decree on summoning an extraordinary session of the Parliament issued by the President of Georgia remains in force, and the Parliament is obliged to sit.

According to a statement made by the Chairperson of the Parliament at the Bureau sitting on July 18, the extraordinary session must be opened by a plenary sitting, but the issues to be discussed at the session are not yet prepared. This explanation does not comply with either the Constitution of Georgia or the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, creating the impression that the initiative put forward by a certain part of the opposition is unacceptable for the ruling majority, regardless of its content. This approach further deepens the depolarization between political forces in the country.

The legislation does not provide for the obligation to determine the exact agenda of an extraordinary session.

A session (as compared to a sitting) is a working cycle of parliamentary work. The decree of the President determines the date of convening the extraordinary session, which may last until the matters that have become the basis for convening the session are fully discussed, but no later than September 5. The session may not have a specified agenda written in advance. That is why, when summoning an extraordinary session, only the list of issues likely to be discussed is defined.

The responsibility to organize the working process of the Parliament lies with the Bureau of the Parliament. To this end, the Bureau is vested with special powers, in particular, to determine the agenda of a plenary session (including within the framework of an extraordinary session), as well as to instruct the committee to discuss a particular matter. Accordingly, in the event that the issue to be discussed at the extraordinary session requires the committee’s efforts, but the committee does not convene the session, the Bureau is entitled to instruct the committee to discuss the matter.

The obligation to hold a plenary sitting in order to open an extraordinary session is not provided by law.

At the Bureau sitting on July 18, the Chairperson in his summary speech reiterated more than once that the extraordinary session should be opened by a plenary sitting. This interpretation is wrong. The Rules of Procedure do not provide for such a limitation. Moreover, the Rules of Procedure do not necessarily govern the form in which the extraordinary session will open. Therefore, despite the manipulative explanations given by the Bureau of the Parliament, the Decree on convening an extraordinary session issued by the President on July 18 remains effective, meaning that the Parliament is currently in session. Any attempt on the part of the parliamentary majority to disrupt the process is inconsistent with the governance order established by the Constitution.

We call on the Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia to convene a sitting of the Bureau in order to open the extraordinary session and organize the discussion of matters at the extraordinary session. The Bureau must exercise its powers established by the Rules of Procedure and instruct the committee to prepare questions to be discussed at the plenary session.