On August 16, 2017, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia with regard to the legality of dismissal of Sh.M.

The Public Defender was informed that the dismissal of Sh.M. and her movement to the reserve staff was based on the reduction of the staff number. According to the submitted documentation, the applicant had a child under the age of three years in the mentioned period.

The Public Defender points out in his recommendation that women's labour rights belongs to a special category of legal protection, which is reflected in the regulation of adequate realization of the right to motherhood in the Law on Public Service, which prohibits dismissal of a female servant due to the reduction of staff during pregnancy or during having a child under the age of three years.

The Public Defender considers that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia was obliged to carry out relevant measures for ruling out any conflicting circumstances before making a decision on the dismissal, which was not done by the Ministry. In particular, the Ministry did not provide any kind of document confirming their attempts to search information about the pregnancy of the woman and/or her having a child under the age of three years. The unlawful decision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia violated the applicant's right to work.

Consequently, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia with a recommendation to reinstate Sh.M. and compensate her for the missed period.