In accordance with Paragraph B of Article 21 of the Georgian Law of the Public Defender of Georgia, the Public Defender has addressed the Minister of Internal Affairs with a recommendation to examine all the circumstances surrounding the disciplinary punishment and dismissal of Sophio Tsutskiridze from the MIA bodies and to make a decision in accordance with the law.

On July 11, 2011, the Public Defender received an application of citizen Sophio Tsutskiridze. The applicant considered that the June 1, 2011 order of the Department of Emergency Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia that imposed a disciplinary punishment on her and dismissed her from the MIA bodies had violated her rights.

The Public Defender requested and studied all the documents about the case.

According to the letter of the HR and Organizational Department of the MIA, citizen Sophio Tsutskiridze was dismissed from the bodies of the Ministry on the basis of the June 1, 2011 conclusion of the MIA’s General Inspection “On the Approval of the Disciplinary Regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia” for committing a disciplinary violation provided for in Subparagraph E, Paragraph 2, Article 2 of the June 24, 2003 Order No. 217 (an inappropriate action committed by an employee that taints the authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs).

According to the information received from the General Inspection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the commission of a disciplinary violation by Sophio Tsutskiridze is confirmed by the following facts: being late for the job systematically, inappropriate fulfillment of the duties of the job, inadequate reaction to remarks of the leadership, inclination to conflict, indifferent attitude to the job, and systematic demands for dismissal.

The June 1, 2011 Order of the Department of Emergency Management on the Disciplinary Punishment and Dismissal from the MIA Bodies and the June 1, 2011 conclusion of the General Inspection fail to establish what constituted inappropriate fulfillment of duties by the junior inspector of the police, Sophio Tsutskiridze, in particular, what legal consequences were caused in every concrete case citizen S. Tsutskiridze fulfilled her duties inappropriately or displayed an indifferent attitude. At the same time, as was indicated in the conclusion, the applicant demanded dismissal from the job systematically. In this case, the administrative organ failed to discuss for what particular reasons the applicant had demanded dismissal from the job. In addition, as citizen Sophio Tsutskiridze’s personal file makes it clear, the aforementioned disciplinary violation is the first one she has committed and she has been rewarded for honest fulfillment of her duties on numerous occasions.

Based on all the aforementioned, the June 1, 2011 Order of the Department of Emergency Management on the Disciplinary Punishment and Dismissal from the MIA Bodies was issued in violation of the procedures established for administrative proceedings, in particular, without an investigation of the circumstances that are important for the case.

Thus, we have factual and legal preconditions confirming that the Ministry of Internal Affairs essentially violated the requirements established for making a decision or preparing and issuing an individual administrative-legal act, which, in accordance with Parts 1 and 2 of Article 601 of the General Administrative Code of Georgia, creates grounds for the nullity of an administrative-legal act.