On September 15, the Democracy Research Institute held a presentation of a study and a discussion on the theme: "Mechanisms of parliamentary control over the State Security Service of Georgia and their importance".

The purpose of the discussion was to outline and discuss the legislative and practical shortcomings in the parliamentary mechanisms intended for supervising the State Security Service and to find solutions to the identified problems.

Although according to the new edition of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Georgia,[1] at first glance, the mechanisms of parliamentary control over the State Security Service have been enhanced, there still remain a number of legislative and practical shortcomings that leave the work of the Service beyond democratic oversight. This is further complicated by the high level of secrecy that is characteristic of the activities of the Security Service.

The study prepared by the Democracy Research Institute shows that the weakness of control/oversight is caused not only by the shortcomings in the legislation, but also by a low degree of political readiness - the control mechanisms provided for in the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Georgia are rarely used or not used by MPs.

Given the broad mandate of the State Security Service, adequate parliamentary oversight/control mechanisms are needed to prevent abuse of power and human rights violations. For this purpose, it is important to have a proper legislative framework and political will, which means that Members of Parliament should use the powers granted to them by law.

[1] Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Georgia, 12.06.2018, see. https://matsne.gov.ge/document/view/4401423?publication=13