The organization “Young Barristers” is going to focus on the legal justification and legal benefits of the project “Panorama Tbilisi” and it’s compliance with the legislation.
According to the lawyer of the “Young Barristers”, Lasha Tsibadze, during the legal analysis of the process, following aspects should be taken into consideration: legal status of the organization implementing the project , compliance of the labor agreement with the labor legislation, an issue of the use of environmental regulations and project compatibility with international directives. It is important, that the society had relevant information in this regard, as far as a wrong discussion may emphasize only disadvantages of the project.
According to the “Young Barristers”, “Panorama Tbilisi” is legally well-grounded project in regard of the legal risks and legal aspects of it’s implementation don’t rise any questions. In particular, the organization will focus on the project implementing group, the LLC “Georgian Co-investment Fund”, which is not registered within any of the offshore zones, that initially dispels suspects towards project implementing investor and thus increases public confidence. In case of the project implementation, employment of the local population is going to be ensured for 3 years, by signing relevant labor contracts between the employer and employees. One of the project advantages is new labor contract, implementation of which is guaranteed by project’s compliance with international standards. Another advantage of the project is, carrying out certain activities in compliance with environmental regulations. However, it is important, to thoroughly protect the construction area, to ensure that every single tree, cut down, meets the objectives of the project. According to the project, it is estimated, that 126 trees in total are going to be cut down, but the same project envisages planting more than 30 000 trees, which will obviously improve the status of the recreational zone.
The study of the issue made it clear, that as a result of the project implementation, historical importance of old Tbilisi districts, is not going to be endangered and the project is not incompatible with the UNESCO standards. Position , stated by certain group of critics , in this direction, is interesting as well. According to their position, , in case of the project implementation, UNESCO will no longer recognize this area of Tbilisi as a World Heritage Site. The organization notes, that such approaches towards the project lacks legal and factual grounds, as the UNESCO officially refused to recognize this part of the capital as the World Heritage Site in 2001, due to production of architecturally inappropriate constructions. Accordingly, “Panorama Tbilisi” is not in conflict with the standards, established by international organizations as well.
The “Young Barristers” appraises project as a step forward, promoting tourist capacity of the capital and notes, that the project must be implemented in accordance with all legal standards. The project should have remarkable results in terms of employment and improving social situation. It should be noted, that, the project will be implemented by the private legal entity, “Georgian Co-investment Fund”, excluding allocation of funds from the State Budget , on the contrary, the State Budget is going to get benefits from the project implementation and the project is an opportunity to promote economic development of the country.
The “Young Barristers” believe, that due to the high public interest, information regarding legal and economic consequences of the project, should be available for every citizen. It is necessary to prevent any shortcomings or mistakes by means of monitoring implemented behalf of the society. The organization proposes an initiative, to start active communication with the population and provide information Forum in order to introduce such an important project to the society.
