CONSTITUTION OF GEORGIA

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Article 1

1. Georgia is an independent, unified and indivisible law-based state, ratified by the referendum carried out on March 31, 1991 throughout the territory of the country, including the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia and the former autonomous district of South Ossetia and further adduced by the act of April 9th, 1991 restoring the independence of the Georgian state.

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Article 2

1. The territory of the Georgian state is determined by the circumstances of the country on December 21st, 1991. The territorial integrity of Georgia and the inviolability of state borders is confirmed and recognised by the Constitution and the laws of Georgia and also by the international community and international organisations.

2. The alienation of the territory of Georgia is forbidden. Changes to the state borders are possible only through bilateral agreement with neighbouring states.

3. The internal territorial arrangement of Georgia is determined by the Constitution on the basis of the principle of division of power after the full restoration of the jurisdiction of Georgia over the whole territory of the country.

4. The citizens of Georgia regulate matters of local importance through local self-government as long as it does not encroach upon national sovereignty. The procedure for the creation of self-governing bodies and their powers and relationship with stat e bodies, is determined by organic law.

Article 3

1. The Georgian supreme national bodies have exclusive power to administer:

a. legislation on Georgian citizenship, human rights and freedoms, emigration and immigration, entrance to and departure from the country, temporarily or permanently resident foreign nationals and stateless persons, within the territory of Georgia;

b. the status and administration of boundaries and their protection; the status of territorial waters, airspace, the continental shelf and special economic zones and their defence;

c. national defence and security; military forces, military/ industrial production and the arms trade;

d. the issues of war and cessation of hostilities; the determination of the existence of and the introduction of a state of emergency or martial law;

e. foreign policy and international relations;

f. custom and tariff regimes and foreign trade;

g. state finances and state loans; the minting of money; legislation on banking, credit , insurance and taxes;

h. standards and measurements; geodesy and cartography; time and state statistics;

i. a unified system of energy; communications; the merchant fleet; flags of ships; harbours of state importance; airports and airfields; the control of airspace; transit and air transport; registration of air transport; meteorological services and a system of environmental protection;

j. railways and roads of importance to the whole state;

k. fishing in oceans and the high sea;

l. boundary-sanitary cordon;

m. legislation on pharmaceutical medicines;

n. certification and accreditation of secondary and high schools, legislation on academic, scientific and professional titles and honours;

o. legislation on intellectual property;

p. legislation on trade, criminal law, civil law, administrative and labour law; legislation on a criminal procedure and other legal proceedings;

r. police and criminal investigation;

s. legislation on land, minerals and natural resources.

2. Matters relating to joint federal administration will be determined separately.

Article 4

1. When conditions are appropriate and self-government bodies have been established throughout the territory of Georgia, Parliament shall be formed with two chambers: the Council of the Republic and the Senate.

2. The Council of Georgia consists of members elected by proportional representation.

3. The Senate consists of members elected from Abkhazia, Adjaria and other territorial units of Georgia as well as five members appointed by the President.

4. The composition, powers and procedures for election to the chambers are determined by organic law.

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Article 8

The state language of Georgia is Georgian; in Abkhazia, Abkhazian is also the state language.

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a. envisages entrance into an international organisation or into inter-state unity;

b. is of a military character;

c. concerns the territorial integrity of the state or the changing of the state’s borders;

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Article 67

1. The right to initiate legislation is vested in the President, a Member of Parliament, a Parliamentary Faction, a committee of Parliament, the supreme representative bodies of Abkhazia and Adjaria or not less than 30 000 electors.

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The President of Georgia.

Article 69

1. The President of Georgia is the Head of State and exercises executive power.

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Article 73

1. The President of Georgia:

g. in the case of war, massive disorder, violation of territorial integrity of the country, military coup, armed insurrection, ecological disaster or epidemic or in other cases when bodies of the state are deprived of their authority - declares a state of emergency throughout the whole territory of the state or its parts and submits it to Parliament within forty eight hours for approval. In the case of a state of emergency, the President is authorized to issue decrees with the power of law and take special measures. The decrees are submitted to the Parliament when it gathers. Emergency authorities extend only on the territory where the emergency is declared for the reasons mentioned in this item;

h. halts or dismisses the activity of representative bodies of local self-government, or territorial units if their activity endangers the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country or the exercise of Constitutional authority of state authorities within the country;

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The Judiciary

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Article 83

1. The legal body for Constitutional supervision is the Constitutional Court of Georgia. Its authority, rights of creation and activity are determined by the Constitution and organic law.

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Article 89

1. The Constitutional Court of Georgia upon the Complaints or Submission of the President, of not less than one fifth of the Members of Parliament, of the courts, of supreme representative bodies of Abkhazia and Adjaria, of the public defenders or of a citizen and under the rules established by organic law:

a. decides the Constitutionality of the law, the President’s normative acts and the normative acts of the supreme bodies of authority of Abkhazia and Adjaria;

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24 August 1995

(www.parliament.ge; The Constitution of Georgia, Tbilisi, 1996, pp. 137-174)