Based on the institutional reform implemented in the Special Investigation Service [SIS] to ensure transparent investigation and effectively protect the rights of victims, the Victims’ Rights Protection Unit was established.

The service submitted the Annual Report 2023 to the Parliament of Georgia about the activities implemented by the service. The report analyzes the reforms to protect the rights of citizens implemented by the SIS, such as the access of citizens to criminal case materials, the special protection program for victims and witnesses, and the establishment of the Victims’ Rights Protection Unit.

Until 2022, citizens who applied to the investigation service to protect their rights did not have access to criminal cases, including the right to read forensic reports and information provided by witnesses. Citizens were allowed to enjoy the mentioned rights only after the establishment of the SIS, which is the best model of transparent investigation according to the standards of the European Court and the first precedent in Georgia.

In particular, the employees of the Victims Rights Protection Unit daily provide detailed information on the rights and duties of the affected citizens, including the applicants, psychological support, familiarization with the case materials, offering special protection programs, organizing the process of familiarization with the case materials for the representatives of the Public Defender Office.

The service proactively offered 471 applicants to familiarize themselves with the criminal case materials and 243 of them or their lawyers used this right. It should be noted that the service did not refuse the request to familiarize with the case materials for any victim and did not limit this opportunity to the representatives of the Public Defender.

The fruitful work of the Victims’ Rights Protection Unit and, accordingly, the involvement of the victim and the applicant in the investigation process and their awareness, significantly increased the citizens’ trust in the investigation results.

The SIS will actively continue the implementation of citizens" rights-oriented reforms in the future. The Annual Activities Report 2023 of the SIS is available here: https://sis.gov.ge/Statistics-and-reports?rec_id=20