Georgian Dream is deliberately repeating the established practice of authoritarian regimes - tightening legislation, limiting the autonomy of institutions as much as possible, strengthening power structures and creating a repressive governance model. One example of this is the draft amendments introduced in the Parliament, according to which, the Law of Georgia on the Special Investigation Service will be declared invalid and the investigative cases of the agency will be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Prosecutor's Office. In addition, the amendments are being made to the Law of Georgia on the Intelligence Service and it will be subordinated to the State Security Service.

The Special Investigation Service was established as a separate agency in March 2022, based on the commitment agreed within the framework of the Association Agenda between Georgia and the European Union for 2017-2020. In particular, the country was obliged to implement effective reforms to combat ill-treatment. Civil society organizations, the Public Defender, representatives of the European Union and other partners were actively involved in the process. Accordingly, the main mandate of the service was to conduct effective, timely and independent investigations into violent crimes and ill-treatment committed by officials (including by the investigators of the State Security Service).

Despite the fact that the agency has not effectively fulfilled its obligations, and especially in recent times the bias towards the ruling party and the dysfunction of the Special Investigation Service have been obvious, Georgian Dream has now openly refused to have even a formally independent agency. Accordingly, the proposed changes directly contradict international standards, according to which, the existence of an independent, specialized agency is necessary to quickly and effectively investigate alleged misconduct by law enforcement officers.

According to the explanatory note:

·         “The proposed draft law eliminates the ambiguity related to the legal status of the Special Investigation Service,” as it will be merged with the Prosecutor’s Office, the degree of independence of which is ensured by the Constitution of Georgia.‘’

However, the bias of the Prosecutor’s Office has been one of the most acute and long-standing matter of criticism both domestically and internationally. The main challenge is the independence of the Prosecutor’s Office and its selection procedures, which are in contradiction with European standards and national legislation. The decision taken by the Georgian Dream party to abolish the formally independent institution and to assign its mandate to the Prosecutor’s Office is another step towards the concentration of power, repressive policies and strengthening of party influence.

According to the explanatory note to another draft law introduced by the Georgian Dream party to the Parliament,

·         “The functions and tasks of the Georgian Intelligence Service and the State Security Service of Georgia are closely related to each other, moreover, these functions and tasks in a number of cases serve to achieve the same legal goal. Accordingly, it is advisable to place the above functions, tasks and entities responsible for their implementation within the framework of one organizational and management system, which will increase their effectiveness.”

In fact, merging the Intelligence Service with the State Security Service further undermines the quality of democracy in the country. According to international standards, the merger of the internal and external functions of intelligence services complicates oversight and increases the risk of human rights violations. In terms of efficiency and accountability, the agencies should operate separately. The proposed model of security services operates in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other non-democratic countries.

Since 2015, the State Security Service has developed into a closed agency with broad powers, which has become a body pursuing partisan interests rather than focusing on the security of the country. Merging the Intelligence Service with such an agency will reduce its degree of independence and effectiveness, which may lead to significant challenges in terms of security.