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Georgian parliament adopts amendments to Criminal Code regarding rights of defendants

Georgia Materials 5 April 2013 17:16 (UTC +04:00)
The Georgian parliament last night accepted the changes to the Criminal code via the first reading by 80 votes.
Georgian parliament adopts amendments to Criminal Code regarding rights of defendants

Georgia, Tbilisi, April 5 / Trend, N. Kirtskhalia/

The Georgian parliament last night accepted the changes to the Criminal code via the first reading by 80 votes.

According to the changes, the defendants will be able to reject the jury only upon relevant agreement between the prosecution and the defending side.

Under the functioning regulations, it is allowed,at the request of the defendant, to refuse the jury court during the preliminary hearing. Former Georgian Interior and Defense Minister Bacho Akhalia has taken advantage of this right.

The functioning rules also say that if "the behavior of the jury substantially violates the right of fair and just trial", or if there is a security threat for the jury, then the lawsuit is viewed by the court without the jury's participation.

These rules were removed from the government-initiated draft, which was unanimously supported by the "Georgian Dream" deputies during the first hearing despite of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs' disapproval.

Committee of Legal Affairs is headed by one of the leaders of "Georgian Dream", Vakhtang Khmaladze, who is said to be a candidate for presidency from the "Georgian Drea" coalition.

He believes that the right of choice jury belongs to the defendant.

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