The organization “Young Barristers” is interested in the protest of the local population regarding the issue of constructing hydropower plants in the different regions of Georgia and notes out, that the questions of the society should be answered.

According to “Young Barristers”, in the Rioni Valley, the developments around the construction of the Namakhvani HPP can’t be considered and evaluated only unilaterally. The discussion in the community continues, as to whether it is appropriate to implement the Namakhvani HPP project, the state, the construction company and the population have its own positions, but, according to the preliminary estimates, there is a significant lack of information, that would create a complete picture of the benefits, dangers and consequences of the project. Therefore, the organization will independently study the legal material and the legitimacy of the taken decisions, which was obtained during the construction of Namakhvani HPP in the valley.

According to “Young Barristers”, the balance of private and public interests always requires the solution of problematic issues in a democratic manner. In the Georgian reality, the construction of any hydroelectric station, which is presented for the purpose of being independent in the energy field by the state, doesn’t enjoy a unified consent and popularity among the citizens.

The organization believes, that for resolving and implementing such issues, the consolidation of experts isn’t enough and the public support is needed, as well. Therefore, the organization offers the Government, in the disputed territorial units, to determine the feelings of the population as possible, to fully inform them and to make further decisions based on that.

The organization believes, that in this respect, the State should use the form of a public poll – a plebiscite, which will give an opportunity for the population to democratically decide the issue of constructing powerful hydropower plants.

According to th Organic Law of Georgia “On Referendums”, plebiscite is nation-wide polling by ballot to find out the opinion of the voters of Georgia or part thereof with respect to particularly important national issues. A plebiscite shall be appointed by the Prime Minister of Georgia. The results of a plebiscite are of recommendatory character for the public authorities. The plebiscite doesn’t have a tradition of legal institution in Georgia. The plebiscite was held on only two cases. In particular, in January 2008, during the presidential elections, the population answered two questions in the form of a plebiscite: whether the next parliamentary elections should have been held in the spring of 2008 and the possibility of Georgia’s membership in NATO. If the issue of constructing the hydropower plants in Georgia can be resolved though a plebiscite, the organization offers the government to initiate the issue during the local elections of 2021, which completely eliminates the need of additional financial resources.

To note out: The organization “Young Barristers” has significant experience in conducting the legal monitoring of hydropower plant constructions. In 2014, the organization studied and published a report about the issues of implementing the Khudoni HPP project in the Municipality of Mestia and conducted a legal analysis of the project.