Georgia: Defense and security committee supports “arms” law amendment

The Defense and Security Committee of the Parliament of Georgia has discussed the first reading of the draft “On Amendments to the Law on Weapons”. The government has recently presented the draft amendment as a legislative initiative.

Grigol Giorgadze the Deputy Minister of Defense of Georgia introduced the bill to members of the Parliament. According to him the legislative changes aim to simplify the procedure stipulated by the law for business operators seeking permission related to arms circulation.

With the introduction of new changes the persons mentioned will be exempted from the obligation to submit documents that cannot be obtained through current practice and are related to complicated procedures.

The deputy minister speaking specifically stated that ” The new change will concern the presentation of the contract of the agreement or protocol of intentions per the permit action. Although the production of documents is already electronic, due to which their “liquefaction” does not happen, it creates difficulty. But this does not mean that the control will be weakened in future since there are documents that prove that the transaction is real”.

It is to be added that as per the amendments an export permit will no longer be mandatory for civilian weapons imported from another state. On the other hand the presentation of documents will be mandatory if the weapon is re-exported.

Moreover based on the security norms as well as other legal procedures, the natural and legal persons who have a store or are involved in the trade must present a certificate that they have passed the checks regarding the rules of use and storage of weapons. Additionally the government will develop the relevant technical regulations for the safety of the people.

At the same time the committee also discussed various other issues related to the country’s security aspects and suggested future defence cooperation with other countries.