Public Defender of Georgia Nino Lomjariaterms the elaborationof the Code of Ethics for Members of Parliament as a step forward in the fight for equality in the country and expresses hope that the Code will be effectively implemented in practice.

According to the Code of Ethics, apart from other restrictions, Members of Parliament will be prohibited from behaving in an offensive or degrading manner, making rude, sexist or discriminatory statements and using hate speech. The draft code also provides for the enforcement mechanism, according to which, disciplinary sanctions will be imposed by the Council of Ethics on the MPs that violate the Code.

It is noteworthy that on February 6, 2017, the Public Defender addressed the Parliament of Georgia with a general proposal and called on the legislative body to consider the possibility of imposinglegal responsibility on MPs in case of making offensive statements or using hate speech.