The Legal Issues Committee discussed for the II reading the Draft Law on International Protection, introduced by the Deputy Interior Minister, Alexander Darakhvelidze.

The legal initiative aims at enhancing the countering of illegal migration and protection of national security.

According to the reporter, the initiators, when developing the Draft Law, have shared the European practice and various EU and CoE directives: "The primary objective of the Draft Law is to prevent the misuse of the asylum-seeking system by certain individuals who are pursuing their legal residence in the country. Furthermore, our nation must implement effective mechanisms to identify those who do not require international protection. The system should ensure the prompt decline of their asylum claims and the initiation of appropriate procedures towards these individuals".

As per the reporter, paragraph one of Article 5 has been specified, indicating that the confidential information about the asylum-seeker or a person under international protection shall not be disclosed, including to the state agencies and citizens of their country of origin.

According to him, certain modifications have been introduced to Articles 10 and 11, providing that the reference regarding the alternative measures replacing the placement of a foreign citizen or a stateless person/asylum-seeker in a temporary shelter shall be submitted to the Interior Ministry if necessary. Furthermore, paragraph 3 has been corrected concerning the terms of the determination of the alternative measures, replacing the placement of a foreign citizen or a stateless person/asylum-seeker in a temporary shelter.

"Namely, the alternative measures replacing the placement of a foreign citizen or a stateless person/asylum-seeker in a temporary shelter may be applied to a certain individual with a term of three months, which may be further extended to six months", - the reporter elucidated.

As the Chair of the Committee, Archil Gorduladze noted, the consultations shall continue regarding the legal package.