Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee endorses revisions to Code on Rights of Child

The Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee approved amendments to the Code on the Rights of the Child of Georgia and the Personal Data Protection law during the initial reading.

In 2023, Parliament adopted a legislative package designed to establish a legal framework for the essential coordination mechanism required for the effective implementation of the Code on the Rights of the Child of Georgia.

This package includes an instrument for facilitating execution: a unified electronic system for data collection and analysis. The amendments assign the Georgian Government the responsibility of establishing an inter-agency institutional coordination mechanism and finalizing its regulations by January 1, 2025.

Furthermore, following the recommendations from the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Labour, Health, and Social Protection, the government must implement a unified electronic data collection and analysis system, along with the guidelines for safeguarding children’s personal data.

The current version of the Code on the Rights of the Child of Georgia mandates inter-agency coordination and the development of a unified electronic system for data collection and analysis. However, to effectively implement these provisions, the law introduces an additional requirement for the establishment of an “institutional coordination mechanism,” which aims to enhance collaboration among agencies operating within their distinct areas of expertise. This necessitates intricate work and the formulation of comprehensive rules, including the specifics of inter-agency cooperation and coordination. The creation of an electronic system and the development of protocols for its proper operation further complicate this process.

Committee Chairman Rati Ionatamishvili emphasized the importance of establishing a reasonable timeline for fulfilling these obligations, both for the inter-agency coordination mechanism and to ensure uninterrupted progress on the preparatory work essential for the effective operation of the electronic system. Consequently, relevant legal provisions should be temporarily suspended.

“This is a technical amendment, as it pertains to revising deadlines established in subordinate legal acts,” Rati Ionatamishvili explained.

By adopting this draft law, the implementation of specific provisions of the Code on the Rights of the Child of Georgia will be postponed until January 1, 2027.