New Ministry Planned

A new Ministry for Penitentiary and Probation will be formed in a merger of the Justice Ministry with the General Prosecutor’s Office (GPO), Gia Khuroshvili, the government’s parliamentary secretary, said in Parliament on October 7.

There are currently 13 ministers and four state ministers in the cabinet. The new ministry will be set up after January 1, 2009.

Parliament held a second hearing today on the constitutional amendment required for the merger of the GPO and the Justice Ministry.

Khuroshvili told MPs that the new ministry would be led by the justice minister. The prime minister will have the right to appoint and dismiss the minister. This marks a change from an initial draft, which had proposed giving the president these powers.

The National Forensics Bureau, which operates within the Justice Ministry, will be established as an independent agency, whose head will be appointed by the president.

The fate of the Public Attorney Service – currently under the remit of the Justice Ministry – will be decided within two months.

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