Georgia - OPCAT Situation
Georgia ratified the OPCAT in 2005 and designated the Public Defender’s Office (Ombudsperson's Office) as its NPM in 2009.
The decision was reached after a series of roundtables, concluded with the adoption of the proposal advanced by the Ministry of Justice. Some amendments were brought to the Ombudsperson's founding legislation to grant the institution additional powers according to the OPCAT.
A NPM Unit was created within the Public Defender's Office, composed of 6 staff and assisted by 25 independent experts, drawn from civil society groups. The Georgian NPM is conducting regular visits to places of detention: in the first half of 2011, the NPM reported having carried out 241 ad hoc and 36 planned visits to penitentiary establishments.
The SPT member Victor Zaharia is the SPT Focal Point for Georgia.