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 the Georgian government to reorganize/change legal form of state universities who exist as a non-entrepreneur (non-commercial) legal entity without taking into consideration the will collegial management bodies chosen by the actors, professors and students. Moreover, if this particular change will be implemented, university will be a subject of any restriction that refers to the legal entities of public law. Accordingly, with this amendment university’s autonomy and self-government which is the source of academic freedom will be restricted.

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.