President Signs New Defense Code into Law

On 12 October, President Salome Zurabishvili signed the new Defense Code into law “despite flaws,” Davit Tevzadze, Presidential Advisor on Strategic Planning said in a briefing today.

• 28/02/2023 – Explainer | Georgia’s New Defense Code

Tevzadze indicated that the requirement for conscripts to exclusively serve under the Defense Ministry’s jurisdiction will put an end to the longstanding “malign practice” involving draftees carrying out compulsory military service under various government agencies as “watch-guards”. According to Tevzadze this led conscripts to a “considerably negative attitude towards service.”

“In the same text, the issue of alternative military service by clerics was regulated to a certain extent, however, when it comes to fulfilling this military obligation, it is necessary to continue work in order to better take into account the desired principle of equality between denominations,”- Tevzadze added.

The presidential advisor asserted that the number of conscripts called up neither corresponds to demographic potential nor adequately considers the challenges the country is facing. Additionally, Tevzadze complained about the absence of “naval defense forces” in the new code, calling it concerning “especially against the current geopolitical challenges.”

Finally, Tevzadze underlined the fact that “the coordination between National Security Council and the Defense Council remains blurry,” which can create “substantial problems” in management during a state of war.

On 21 September, Parliament of Georgia adopted the controversial Defense Code in the 3rd hearing with 80 votes. The overhaul of compulsory military service was a central element of the new code. Under the revised Defense Code, effective from 2025, all conscripts will be under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, departing from previous practices.

The provision exempting priests from compulsory military service was removed from the new code, but the 2002 Constitutional Agreement between the Georgian state and the Orthodox Church holds a superior legislative authority, which continues to grant exemption privileges exclusively to Orthodox priests.

Also Read:

• 21/09/2023 – Parliament Adopts Defense Code

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