Announcements

On April 19, 2013 Georgian Parliament passed amendment in the Civil Code initiated by the Ministry of Education. According to this amendment

“38.1 it is forbidden to change legal form of non-entrepreneur (non-commercial) legal entity in any case other than through changing legal form the entity is transformed into legal entity of public law”;

38.11 Division, amalgamation and liquidation of non-entrepreneur (non-commercial) legal entity is implemented according to the rule established by the Georgia legislation about liquidation/reorganization of an entrepreneur subject.”

This amendment gives the right to Georgian government to change the legal form of the university without taking into consideration professors, researchers and students opinion. This right of the government unambiguously restricts university’s autonomy and self-governance and therefore academic freedom as well. Even more, the frame in which legal entity of public law exists according to the Georgian legislation is completely irrelevant for university’s development and functioning. For any of our current or future partners two things are most important: stability of the university on the legal level and immunity of university’s private property, including intellectual property. This amendment cancels both of the principles on which success, sustainable development and long-term partnership of any university is based.

Therefore, we appeal to the Georgian government and Parliament to take into consideration all of abovementioned issues and to return the right to university’s professors, researchers and students to decide by themselves in which legal form they want to exist in Georgian and international legal space. 

Ilia State University Business School Council