On August 16, 2017, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed JSC Georgian Energy Development Fund with a recommendation on issuance of public information.

The Media Development Fund (non-commercial legal entity) indicated in its application that JSC Georgian Energy Development Fund refused to provide information and documentation about the services purchased from media outlets on the motive that JSC Energy Development Fund is not a public agency, and therefore, the requested information belongs to commercial secrets and are not subjected to issuance.

The Public Defender's Office established that the main directions of JSC Georgian Energy Development Fund, which was founded by the state’s 100% share participation, are implementation of the actions under the competence of the Ministry of Energy, which serve pursuit of state policy in the field of energy. Therefore, the Georgian Energy Development Fund is an administrative body which has public legal functions and is obliged to issue information related to the administrative body.

According to the Public Defender, the right to access to information, enshrined in the constitution, is related to one of the main requirements of democratic discipline - maximal transparency of state institutions. In addition, the Public Defender underlined that the Georgian legislation provides a high standard of publicity regarding the procurements implemented with public finances.

Accordingly, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed JSC Georgian Energy Development Fund with a recommendation to satisfy the request of the Media Development Fund and provide public information and documentation requested by it.