The Parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee backed the amendments to the draft On Fight Against Corruption with the second reading.

According to the reporter, the Chair of the Committee, Anri Okhanashvili, an Article is introduced back to the draft envisaging that the official stipulated under respective paragraphs of the Law shall, within a term established by the Head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, get the drug test certificate and submit it to the Bureau within a term of 3 days upon the issue.

“The Venice Commission opinion provided to either withdraw this record or specify legitimate objectives. Initially, we opted for the withdrawal of this Article as expedient, however, the declared policy of our Government envisages stricter approaches to the drug policy, especially against drug sales. Thus, we have already initiated the Draft re-regulating the dozes of new narcotic drugs based on the studies and surveys by the Interior Ministry in cooperation with the international organization. We intend to apply stricter approaches to the drug policy, especially to the officials. The decision made by certain officials who refuse to get a drug test cannot be relied on. Upon the first reading of the draft, we were pondering about the reservation that if this Article were not unanimously approved, it would seem that the annulment of the drug tests was our initiative. Hence, we introduce this Article back to keep it in force,” he stated.

As Anri Okhanashvili remarked, in line with the Venice Commission recommendation, the initial version of the Draft provides that the detention, arrest and indictment of the Head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau require the approval of the Parliament, however, the termination of his/her authority was left open.

Thus, the Draft specifies this regulation by the record that in case of the approval of the Parliament to the detention, arrest and indictment of the Head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, his/her powers shall be terminated under the Resolution of the Parliament until the issue of the resolution/judgment on the termination of the criminal prosecution or the effective date of the court judgment.

As the reporter noted, the current norm will be re-introduced to the Draft, stipulating one of the basics of the pre-term termination of the authority of the Head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau – the use of narcotic drugs or evasion from the mandatory drug test.