PDPS participates in 5th Armenian-Georgian Legal Forum

Georgia: Personal Data Protection Service (PDPS) representatives Participated in the 5th Armenian-Georgian Legal Forum in Yerevan.

At the panel session held within the framework of the Forum, Nikoloz Popiashvili, Head of the Department of International Relations, Analytics, and Strategic Development Ana Tokhadze, discussed the institutional independence of the Georgian Personal Data Protection Supervisory Body, organizational structure, and mechanisms for controlling the legality of data processing. 

They also discussed legislative news, public awareness-raising activities, and international cooperation.

The head of the Armenian Personal Data Protection Agency, Grigor Nersisiani, reviewed the structure of the supervisory body, international cooperation, and measures taken to raise public awareness. At the plenary session, other Armenian Personal Data Protection Agency employees presented reports.

Notably, to deepen cooperation, the parties have expressed their readiness to sign a memorandum of mutual cooperation.

Judicial Forum City: It lasted two days in Yerevan, and the Georgian Minister of Justice opened it with an Armenian colleague.

Representatives of the Secretariat for Human Rights Protection of the Government of Georgia, the Personal Data Protection Service, the Association of Mediators, the Association of Lawyers, and the Legal Aid Service discussed the achievements and planned innovations within the two-day working format of the Forum with colleagues.

The Personal Data Protection Service is an independent state authority; its activities are:

• Monitoring lawfulness of personal data processing;
• Monitoring covert investigative actions and activities performed within the central databank of electronic communications identification data. 

Control over the legality of personal data processing in Georgia dates back to 2013. Oversight of covert investigative actions has been carried out since 2015. These powers were exercised by the Office of the Personal Data Protection Inspector from 2013 to 2019 and from 2019 to 2022 by his legal successor, the State Inspector’s Service. From March 1, 2022, this mandate was given to the Personal Data Protection Service.