Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks focuses on the Importance of the Privacy Protection in Georgia

2014-05-21 13:35:52

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks visited Tbilisi on 20-25 January, 2014. He met the President of the country, the Chairman of the Parliament, members of the Government and Parliament, Chairman of the Supreme Court of Georgia, Chief Prosecutor, representatives of opposition party and the civil society as well. He also held meetings with Public Defender and Personal Data Protection Inspector.

Personal Data Protection Inspector, Mrs. Tamar Kaldani provided information on the state of the personal data protection in Georgia and about the work done after the formation of the Office. Issues related to the illegal surveillance materials and ad hoc Commission were also discussed during the meeting.

The Report of the Nils Muižnieks, published on May 12, 2014, along with the other important issues outlines the significance of the protection of the privacy in Georgia: “The Commissioner calls upon the authorities to protect privacy rights under Article 8 of the ECHR, to criminalize the possession of materials obtained as a result of illegal surveillance and to collect any such material which may have fallen into private hands. Technical and physical surveillance activities must be regulated and any such activities should only be carried out under proper judicial supervision.”

The Commissioner welcomes the appointment of the Personal Data Protection Inspector and emphasizes that it is important to provide sufficient financial and human resources to the organization.

English and Georgian versions of the report are available on the web-site of the Council of Europe