Browsing by Author "Gegenava, Dimitry"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Church-State Relations In The Democratic Republic Of Georgia (1918-1921)
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2018) Gegenava, Dimitry
    Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918-1921) was one of the unique states in the first quarter of XX century. Despite the historical relations between the Church and the State in Georgia, the social-democratic government changed its official policy and chose French secularism, which was very unusual for the country. This was incorporated in the Constitution of 1921. This article is about the Georgian church-state relations during 1918-1921, the positive and negative aspects of the chosen form of secularism and the challenges that the newly independent State faced in the sphere of religious freedom until the Soviet occupation.
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    Energy Exchange, Association Agreement with the European Union and Legal Challenges for the Georgian Energy Law
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2023) Partsvania, Maka; Gegenava, Dimitry
    Georgia signed an Association Agreement with the European Union in 2014, and this launched a process of approximation and harmonization with EU law. Energy law is one of the most important areas, which has to be developed and modified in accordance with the EU directives, regulations and rules of the Energy Community. Georgia took responsibility for establishing the energy exchange system and reorganizing the Georgian electricity market on a new model. In fact, these issues have not been studied, as they require, on the one hand, a very in-depth, practical knowledge of the issue and, on the other hand, erudition in the issues of legal approximation and information about the obligations assumed by the association agreement. The purpose of the article is to review the legislative regulations on the Georgian electricity market, the legal framework that defines the main principles of the market, the basis of operation, and sociopolitical and legal mechanisms of market stability. In the article, special attention will be paid to the status of the energy exchange in Georgia, its concept, its legal basis, problematic issues related to its implementation, and the future perspective. As a result of the analysis of the issues, based on the evaluation of the existing problems, the necessary legal ways of the development of energy law and the mechanisms promoting harmonization with the laws of the European Union are determined.
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    Insults to religious feelings v. freedom of expression: Lessons from Aiisa’s case
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Gegenava, Dimitry
    The present article aims to analyze selected aspects of the conflict between two basic values: freedom of expression and freedom of religion. Based on the co-called Aiisa’s case (see the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights of 22 July 2021, Ana Gachechiladze v. Georgia, App. No. 2591/19), the paper proposes general criteria for assessing insults to religious feelings. It is argued that national courts must not act as guardians of concrete religious groups or conventional morals, as this leads to negative results and destruction of the national law system. As a rule, it cannot be excluded that sacred images and figures are used in commercials or other ways of expression. When adjudicating on a case, every court should primarily consider the context, content and form, and prohibition of expression should be the last and final resort.
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    State Funding of Religious Organizations in Georgia
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2019) Gegenava, Dimitry
    This article aims to analyze the existing model of state funding of religious organizations in Georgia, taking into account its assumptions and nature and focusing on the problem of the preferential treatment of some religious organizations (especially the Georgian Orthodox Church). First, the key assumptions of funding religious organizations from public sources in Georgia are presented. Then, the article discusses the relevant case law of the Constitutional Court of Georgia. Finally, the challenges of the current model are identified, and some suggestions for the desirable changes in the system are made accordingly. It is argued that the future solutions in this area should respect the principle of secular state. The article concludes by indicating some possible European models that could be followed by the Georgian legislator.
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    The 2003 draft Agreement between the Holy See and Georgia and future prospects for cooperation
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2023) Gegenava, Dimitry
    In 2002, Georgia and the Georgian Apostolic Autocephalic Orthodox Church signed the Constitutional Agreement, which established a new legal model of the state–church relationship. After this event, Georgia and the Holy See drafted a special agreement that was supposed to be signed in September 2003. It was intended to give legal guarantees to the Catholic Church and Catholic believers. Vatican Secretary for Relations with States Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran arrived in Georgia on 18 September to sign the agreement, but at the last minute, the president of Georgia decided not to finalise the process. This draft was not known to society, and even researchers did not have access to the text. This article overviews that document and tries to analyse the perspectives of a future agreement between Georgia and the Holy See. W 2002 r. Gruzja zawarła umowę konstytucyjną z Gruzińskim Apostolskim Autokefalicznym Kościołem Prawosławnym, ustanawiając tym samym nowy model prawnych relacji państwo-Kościół. Po tym wydarzeniu Gruzja i Stolica Apostolska przygotowały projekt umowy, która miała zostać przez nie podpisana we wrześniu 2003 r. Jej celem było ustanowienie prawnych gwarancji, które miały przysługiwać Kościołowi Katolickiemu i katolikom. W dniu 18 września do Gruzji przybył Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran, watykański Sekretarz do spraw Relacji z Państwami, aby podpisać umowę. Jednak w ostatniej chwili prezydent Gruzji podjął decyzję o odstąpieniu od sfinalizowania tej procedury. Omawiany projekt nie jest znany opinii publicznej. Nawet badacze nie mieli dostępu do tego tekstu. Jego omówienie stanowi podstawowy cel niniejszego artykułu, w którym podejmuje się ponadto kwestię perspektyw przyszłej umowy pomiędzy Gruzją i Stolicą Apostolską.