Parliament of Georgia - Passage of A Draft Law in The Parliament

Passage of A Draft Law in The Parliament

According to the Constitution, the President of Georgia, a Parliamentary committee, a Parliamentary faction, a member of the parliament, the supreme representative bodies of Abkhazia and Ajaria, or not less than 30,000 electors have the right to initiate legislation.

Parliamentary committees and the President are the chief initiators of legislative proposals in Georgia . A draft law, prepared on the committee or received through legislative initiative, is discussed at a meeting of the relevant committee. The draft, with the view of the committee or explanatory note attached, is passed on to other Parliamentary committees and factions. It is published in the "Parliamentary Reports", a special issue of the Parliament.

Before the committee decides to submit the draft law to the plenary session it arranges a committee reading. The reading is conducted in public. Information about the committee reading is disseminated through the mass media by the Parliamentary Press-Center, at least 7 days in advance. If the committee decides that the draft is ready for discussion at the plenary meeting, it is passed on to the Staff of the Parliament. The latter sees to it that the draft is put on the agenda of the Bureau. When the draft is initiated by the President of Georgia, the supreme representative bodies of Abkhazia and Ajaria, or a constituency, the Parliamentary Bureau refers the draft to the relevant committee.

The Parliament considers the draft law in three readings.

First reading - At the first reading of the draft its general principles and main propositions are discussed. If the draft passes the first reading, it is sent to the relevant committee (committees), with all the remarks to be taken into consideration.

Second reading - The draft - revised and discussed with account of the remarks made by the Parliament - is submitted to a Parliamentary session for the second reading. At the second reading the draft is discussed by sections, chapters, clauses or parts of clauses, each being put to the vote.

Third reading - For the third reading the members of Parliament are supplied with versions of the draft. They may introduce only editorial remarks, after which the draft law, passed by the Parliament, is submitted to the President of Georgia, who signs it into law and has it published. The law is published in an official organ, entering into force on the 15th day from publication, unless some other term is indicated in the law.

Period of sessions

The Parliament meets twice a year: for the spring and autumn sessions. The spring session opens on the first Tuesday of February and closes on the last Friday of June. The autumn session opens on the first Tuesday of September and closes on the third Friday of December.

The Parliamentary session is planned for a fortnightly cycle, made up of plenary and committee sittings. The first week is given to plenary sessions, while the second to committee work and meeting with constituencies.