Georgia Proposes Draft Law on S.Ossetia Restitution

The Georgian government submitted a long-awaited draft law on property restitution for the victims of the South Ossetian conflict to the Parliament for consideration last week. However, the document, which is seen by Tbilisi as a major part of the conflict resolution process, needs the green light from the South Ossetian side in order to make the law work.

“It is our commitment and moral responsibility to adopt this draft law,” Nino Burjanadze, the Georgian Parliamentary Chairperson, told lawmakers on May 15 after the government submitted the draft law to the Parliament.

Georgia undertook a commitment to pass a law on property restitution in 1999 while joining the Council of Europe.

According to the Georgian authorities, the draft law on “Compensation, restitution and restoration of rights for the victims of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict”, which was initiated by President Saakashvili and developed by the Justice Ministry, was welcomed by the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Venice Commission – the advisory body for constitutional issues – during discussions in March.

The draft law recognizes the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their houses if they wish to return and can prove the ownership rights for the property.

According to the official Georgian official about 60,000 ethnic Ossetians were forced to leave South Ossetia and other parts of Georgia as a result of the conflict – most of them left for Russia’s North Ossetian Republic. About 10,000 ethnic Georgians left South Ossetia.

According to the Georgian Public Defender’s Office, some surveys show that more than 90% of the ethnic Ossetian refugees refuse to return to Georgia, citing that their property is now occupied by other persons.

A mission of the Venice Commission visited the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali on May 18 and discussed issues related with the property restitution with South Ossetian officials, according to the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee.

The South Ossetian side has shown little enthusiasm towards this Georgian-proposed draft law. Deputy Chairman of the breakaway South Ossetian government Boris Chochiev described the document in April as “one more PR campaign” of the Georgian authorities, which will fail to become a relief for the refugees and internally displaced persons. However, Chochiev did not specify exactly which provisions of the draft law are unacceptable for Tskhinvali.

In March, the U.S. called on the South Ossetian side “to promptly engage with the Georgian side on the draft restitution law.”

“We call on the Russian Federation to encourage the South Ossetians to take these steps now,” U.S. Ambassador Julie Finley said on March 27 while addressing the OSCE Special Permanent Council in Vienna.

The draft law on property restitution envisages the creation of an 18-member tripartite commissionwhich will deal with the appeals submitted by victims of the conflict.

Six seats in the commission, which will be based in Tbilisi, will be occupied by representatives of international organizations, which are not specified in the draft law. These members of the commission will then select six members from each side – Georgia and South Ossetia – on the basis of an open competition.

International organizations themselves, as well as political parties, non-commercial organizations, or groups of at least 50 citizens can nominate candidates to fill seats in the commission allocated for the Georgian and South Ossetian sides.

A person who participated in the 1990-1992 South Ossetian armed conflict can not become member of the commission. Representatives of political parties will also be denied membership, except those who represent international organizations in the commission.

According to the draft law, the commission, which is scheduled to operate for nine years, will be an independent body and any attempt to pressure the commission will be severely punished.

The commission should report to the Georgian Parliament, the Georgian President, and the Georgian government on its activities twice a year.

The draft law entitles the commission to freely “access, inspect any territory” without prior notification, but with a court order.

Any person, regardless of citizenship, who has suffered from loss or damage of property as a result of the armed conflict can appeal the commission for compensation and restitution within seven years of the commission’s commencement. The commission should rule about the admissibility of an application within 15 days.

The final verdict of the commission should be announced within six months of an application being approved. If the application concerns a complicated case, however, the final ruling should be announced within nine months, according to the draft law.

The Commission’s ruling can be appealed in the Georgian Supreme Court.

A victim should either be granted financial compensation or property equivalent to the property the victim owned before the conflict. Financial compensation should be paid within one year of the commission’s ruling.

A victim and his/her family members should be provided with monthly (estimated in accordance to the minimum consumer requirements) and a single allowance (GEL 1,500), if that person decides to return and reside permanently in Georgia. Monthly allowances should be paid for six months.

The proposed draft law does not include an assessment of the financial needs of the restitution.

According to the document, the commission’s fund could be financed from the Georgian state budget, foreign governments, international organizations and from private contributors as well.

It is not yet known when exactly the Georgian Parliament plans to discuss the draft law.

According to the document, the law should be enforced starting from January 1, 2007. The commission should be composed within five months of the law being enforced and the commission can accept applications nine months after the law is enforced.