Disputed Private Property Legalized
About 95% of legal property disputes between the state and individuals or firms will be suspended, in accordance with a resolution pass by the Parliament on November 22 with 137 to 1 votes.
The 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, according to MP Levan Bezhashvili, the chairman of the parliamentary committee for legal issues.
The resolution calls on law enforcement agencies to withdraw cases from the courts by mid-December involving disputes over property privatized before April 2007.
The resolution signaled 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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