Authorities to Legalize Disputed Private Property

About 95% of legal property disputes between the state and individuals or firms will be suspended, in accordance with a draft resolution expected to be passed by Parliament later on November 20.

The draft resolution instructs state agencies, including law enforcement bodies, to cease probes into disputed properties, except in cases of ?special interest? to the state. Such cases amount to only about 5% of the total, MP Levan Bezhashvili, the chairman of the parliamentary committee for legal issues, said.

The draft law calls on law enforcement agencies to withdraw cases from the courts by mid-December involving disputes over property privatized before April 2007.

The initiative signals a softening in the official stance on the issue. In June Parliament approved a law on the legalization of property, but it did not apply to properties under investigation at the time. The opposition refused to support it for this very reason.

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