Parliament to Set up Group on Property Rights

Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze suggested to opposition lawmakers to set up a joint group that will unite representatives of different parliamentary factions to look into reported cases of property rights’ abuse by the authorities and to elaborate a bill to provide additional guarantees for the protection of property rights.
 
?I had consultations with President Saakashvili yesterday? and it was agreed that it would be better if the Parliament itself elaborates this draft law? So we are ready to set up an inter-factional group to discuss the issue. This group should work behind closed doors, without any politicization of the issue,? Nino Burjanadze said at parliamentary session on February 13.

The authorities’ alleged abuse of property rights has featured prominently in the local media lately and has also become a major target for the opposition?s criticism. A number of commercial spaces have been destroyed by the Tbilisi municipality, which claims that the buildings were constructed illegally and were deforming the capital city?s appearance.

Nino Burjanadze said that although the destroyed commercial spaces were ?in most cases? built through illegal transactions, the authorities are ready to provide compensation to owners if it turns out that their property was destroyed illegally. 

She also said that the parliamentary group should probe into concrete cases of alleged abuse of property rights.

The opposition lawmakers have long been demanding to set up an investigative parliamentary commission over alleged abuse of property rights by the authorities, but the ruling majority was so far declining the proposal.

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