Sokhumi Adopts Asset Declaration Law Amendments

Moscow-backed leader of occupied Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania on June 14 approved amendments to the assets declaration legislation which covers “officials,” “lawmakers,” “president,” “vice-president,” and related candidates as those subject to the law, replacing the previously worded “civil servants.”

The initial legislation on asset declarations was adopted in February 2019, but it included a provision stipulating that the law could only enter into force after the code on “civil servants” was adopted as well.

By introducing a new definition and dropping the term “civil servants” from the list, the asset declaration law will no longer be dependent on adopting the “civil service law,” clarified lawmaker Givi Kvarchia.

The move came amid a push by an anti-corruption advocacy group for Abkhaz lawmakers to set an exact date for the asset declaration legislation’s entry into force.

The amendments are set to come into effect on July 1, 2021.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)