Law of Georgia on Public Safety

LAW OF GEORGIA

ON PUBLIC SAFETY

 

Chapter I - General Provisions

 

Article 1 - Scope of the Law

1. This Law defines:

a) the powers of the executive authority of Georgia, of the Autonomous Republics and of local self-governing bodies, and the rights and obligations of natural persons (“the population”) and legal persons in the field of public safety;

b) the procedures for establishing a unified system for the management of emergency situations (”the Unified System”) during peace and military operations, and the rights and obligations of the subjects of this system.

2. If a state of emergency is declared, this Law shall be applied according to the Law of Georgia on State of Emergency, and if martial law is declared, this Law shall be applied according to the Law of Georgia on Martial Law.

 

Article 2 - Purpose of the Law

This Law is intended to:

a) legally regulate public safety in Georgia;

b) protect the life, health and property of the population, also properties of the State, municipalities and natural and legal persons, and the environment during emergency situations;

c) regulate the relationship among the Unified System bodies, and define their rights, obligations and responsibilities;

d) ensure the creation of and organise the operation of a Unified System, including the establishment and organisation of the operations of fire and rescue divisions;

e) determine the procedures for organisation and implementation of fire prevention, fire fighting and emergency rescue operations, and ensure the emergency prevention, emergency response, and mitigation and liquidation of emergency consequences.

 

Article 3 - General principles and objectives of the Law

This Law is based on the following general principles and objectives:

a) ensuring public safety throughout Georgia with the participation of the state government and local self-governing bodies, the population and organisations, taking into account the administrative and territorial system and subordination between the sectors;

b) applying fire safety, emergency prevention and response requirements set by the State only within the scope of the law;

c) ensuring the constitutional rights to protect life, health and property of the people by the State;

d) using a complex approach to accomplish public safety objectives;

e) giving priority to the objectives of saving lives and preserving the health of the population;

f) using maximum possibility of economically justified reduction of emergency risks;

g) centralising and unifying the management of emergency response forces in emergency response and eliminating emergency effects; making it necessary to comply with disciplinary procedures; and making it obligatory to follow the instructions and directions given by head officers to their subordinates;

h) ensuring readiness of emergency response forces for the fire prevention, emergency prevention, fire fighting, participation in emergency rescue operations, recovery operations, and human search and rescue operations in emergency zones, and for rendering first aid to affected persons;

i) taking reasonable risks while carrying out fire fighting and emergency rescue operations, and accepting responsibilities by the heads of fire and rescue divisions to ensure safety of the personnel of these divisions;

j) ensuring publicity, transparency, dissemination of and free access to information in the field of public safety which is not prohibited by the legislation of Georgia;

k) involving the population voluntarily in emergency response measures;

l) ensuring humane treatment of persons injured during emergency response operations, respecting their dignity and religious convictions;

m) determining the powers of state authorities and local self-governing bodies, of the population and legal persons in the field of public safety;

n) safeguarding the life, health and property of the population, and protecting the environment in time of emergency in peace and during military operations by preventing emergency and organising respective emergency response measures;

o) safeguarding the life, health and property of the population, and protecting the property of the State, municipalities and legal persons from fire by organising fire prevention, fire fighting and emergency rescue operations.

 

Article 4 - Legal basis of the Law

The legal basis for ensuring public safety in Georgia is: the Constitution of Georgia, international agreements of Georgia in the field of public safety, this Law, and other legal acts of Georgia.

 

Article 5 - Definition of terms used in the Law for the purposes of this Law

1. Public safety - a complex of protection and safety measures that encompasses:

a) emergency prevention and mitigation of emergency effects;

b) fire safety, including organisation of fire prevention, fire fighting, and implementation of emergency rescue operations;

c) readiness of emergency response forces for emergencies expected or occurring in times of peace or military operations, responding to these emergencies and protecting the population;

d) guarantee of the safe and stable functioning of facilities falling within the category of public safety.

2. Emergency – a crisis situation in certain territories or organisations that is characterised by the disturbance of normal living conditions of the population, caused by disasters, large industrial accidents, fire, natural disasters, epidemics, epizooty, epiphytoty, or by use of the implements of war, and that poses and/or may pose a threat to the life and/or health of the population, and causes or may cause victims, human injuries, and/or significant material damage.

3. Large industrial accident – an explosion, fire, or large-scale leak of hazardous substance (substances) that is caused by an uncontrolled development in the production process at a potentially hazardous facility, and that poses a sudden and serious threat to human life, health, and/or the environment, both inside and outside the potentially hazardous facility.

4. Incident – natural, man-made, ecological, or social phenomenon, that poses a threat to the life, health, social condition, and property of the population, and/or to the environment.

5. Emergency zone – defined territory or water area, where an emergency has occurred.

6. Emergency risk – the probability of occurrence of an emergency that is defined by negative consequences and impacts the life, health, and property of humans facing the threat, as well as by negative consequences and impact on the environment.

7. Emergency risk assessment – a process of determining the nature and scale of an expected emergency, and the indices of negative consequences and impacts on the life, health, and property of humans facing the threat, as well as on the environment, by analysing potential threats and by assessing existing vulnerabilities.

8. Designated authority – the Legal Entity under Public Law - the Emergency Management Agency ('the Agency'), acting within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, that organises emergency prevention, readiness of the Unified System, emergency response and recovery operations in an emergency zone, and implements a national public safety plan to solve public safety objectives.

9. Readiness of the Unified System – ability of the Unified System bodies and the population to promptly and appropriately respond to the threat of an occurrence of and/or to emergency, which is achieved by ensuring a continuous process of training of the Unified System bodies and the population in public safety and its complex monitoring.

10. National public safety plan ('the National Plan') – a basic guiding document of the Unified System that regulates the activities of administrative bodies in the field of public safety and that is based on emergency management plans and emergency risk management plans.

11. Emergency management plan – preliminary planning document that regulates exercising rights and obligations by the Unified System bodies during the main phases of emergencies (emergency prevention, emergency readiness, emergency response, and conduct of recovery operations in an emergency zone) originated in times of peace and military operations, and the formation and management of material and human resources.

12. Emergency risk management plan (“the Risk Management Plan”) – preliminary planning document developed by the Unified System bodies that specifies the goals for detecting, assessing, and reducing emergency risks, specific objectives, the management measures necessary for reaching these objectives and the management actions required to reduce potential damage and loss to the minimum level, as well as to prevent origination of new risks.

13. Mitigation of emergency effects (“the mitigation”) – reduction, mitigation, or limitation of negative impacts of threats or emergencies related to such threats, as well as of negative impacts of military operations.

14. Emergency response and liquidation of emergency effects (“the emergency response”) – fire fighting, study and assessment of the situation, conduct of emergency rescue operations and other urgent operations by emergency response forces in an emergency zone and its adjacent territory in order to rescue and maintain human life and health, and to reduce material damage and damage to the environment, as well as to localise an emergency zone.

15. Recovery operations in an emergency zone (“the recovery operations”) – a complex of priority, urgent measures that are implemented by emergency response forces in an emergency zone to restore the processes for living and social existence, to protect life and health of the rescued population and of these forces itself, and to comprehensively support their activities.

16. Emergency-rescue operations – actions that are directed to saving human life and property, as well as to minimising the effects of accidents, catastrophes, and emergency hazards.

17. Human search operations – actions that aim to search for people injured and lost as a result of an incident or an emergency.

18. Rescue operations – actions that are implemented during an incident or an emergency to save human life, health, and property.

19. Other urgent operations – rendering of emergency medical and other types of urgent assistance, implementation of sanitary and epidemiological measures, sanitation and decontamination of territories, and the keeping of public order in an emergency zone.

20. Organisation – an educational, pedagogical or medical institution, an industrial enterprise, a facility of vital importance, or other organisations operating in the field of public safety that are intended, within their capability, to prevent and respond to emergencies and to conduct recovery operations.

21. Facility – property of natural or legal persons, of the State or municipality (including territories, facilities, vehicles, processing plants, aggregates, devices, manufactured articles, and other property), for which fire safety requirements, and emergency prevention and response requirements are or shall be established.

22. Emergency response forces (“the Response Forces”) – the forces of the State, of Autonomous Republics, of regional and local self-government bodies and of organisations (including their managing bodies), as well as public safety reservists that are formed to respond to emergencies and to conduct recovery operations to protect the population and the territory from emergencies.

23. Rescue division – a division of the Response Forces that is set up in the respective territory or organisation, according to established procedures, to conduct human search and other rescue operations.

24. Fire and rescue division – a division of the Agency that is established to carry out fire prevention, fire fighting and emergency rescue operations, to prevent and respond to emergencies, as well as a division of a municipality, agency, private or voluntary fire fighting and/or rescue service, set up according to an established procedure, to carry out fire prevention, fire fighting and emergency rescue operations.

24¹. Fire rescuer – a person who is directly involved in fire prevention and fire fighting measures, performs emergency and rescue works, manages and organises these activities, has an appropriate special, physical and psychological training, theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

24². Rescuer – a person who directly performs rescue works, is involved in emergency prevention and response measures, manages and organises these activities, has an appropriate special, physical and psychological training, theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

25. Public safety reservists – reservists that are mobilised according to the Law of Georgia on Military Reserve Service to respond to emergencies.

26. Notifying population on emergencies – providing urgent information and transmitting notification signals by emergency response management bodies to state authorities and local self-government bodies, organisations and the population, regarding emergencies and/or emergency threats.

27. Shelter – a building or a structure that may be used to protect the population from different damaging factors for a specified period of time during emergencies or military operations. The shelter may be a dual-purpose civil or industrial building and/or a special hermetic protective structure that is designed considering the damage factors.

28. Host nation support – implementation of procedures by a host nation to prevent possible complications while receiving and using international assistance.

29. Emergency rescue facilities – technical, technical-scientific or intellectual products intended for the implementation of emergency rescue operations, including special control and communication means, hardware, equipment, devices and other valuables, methodological materials, videos, films, photographs related to the techniques of emergency rescue operations, software, and databases.

30. Material resources – emergency rescue facilities, movable and immovable property, construction material, equipment and other resources that are used for emergency prevention and for readiness of the Unified System, as well as for emergency response.

31. Performing mandatory operations – mandatory performance of supportive operations for the Response Forces by natural and legal persons during emergency response under an ordinance of the Government of Georgia, or transfer of material resources owned by natural and legal persons to the Response Forces; as well as actions limiting personal rights exercised under extreme necessity and/or within reasonable risk, which, under the legislation of Georgia, are subject to financial or material compensation during or after recovery operations.

32. Emergency prevention and response requirements – special conditions of a social and/or technical nature, set by the legislation of Georgia, to prevent and respond to emergencies.

33. Facility of vital importance – water supply, sewage, waste water facilities, boilers or power structures, hydraulic and other facilities, having special importance for the strategic interests of the State.

34. Fire and explosion hazardous constructions and repositories (the fire and explosion hazardous facilities”) – industrial and storage premises and repositories of highly hazardous fire and explosion, also hazardous fire and explosion, category defined under normative acts effective in the field of fire safety, irrespective of their functional designation, during the industrial and technological processes of which there is a possibility of the occurrence of explosion and fire, or fire followed by an explosion.

35. Fire hazardous premises and repositories (“the fire hazardous facilities”) – fire hazardous industrial and storage premises and repositories defined under normative acts effective in the field of fire safety, irrespective of their functional designation, during the industrial and production processes of which there is a possibility of fire and fire propagation, as well as of the impact of fire hazards on humans and material valuables.

36. Potentially hazardous facility – a facility, falling within the category of the state fire supervision and public safety, the industrial and technological processes of which involves utilisation, production, treatment, storage or transportation of radioactive, fire hazardous, fire and explosion hazardous, hazardous chemical and biological substances, where accidents or improper running of a production process may cause emergencies (including the threat of fire, destruction, explosion, emission or intoxication) and that involves a high risk for human life, health, property, and the environment.

37. Fire safety – protection of the life, health and property of natural persons, and the property of the State, municipalities and legal persons from fire.

38. Fire protection – a complex of fire safety entities that is set up according to the established procedures and is intended to organise fire prevention, and to carry out fire fighting and emergency rescue operations.

39. Fire prevention – a set of preventive measures that are intended to avoid the possibility of fire and to reduce the effects of fire.

40. Fire safety measures – actions that are implemented to ensure fire safety (including fulfilment of fire safety requirements).

41. Fire - an uncontrolled – process causing material damage, posing a threat to human life and health, and harming the interests of the public and the State.

42. Fire safety requirements – special conditions of social and/or technical nature that are determined by the legislation of Georgia to ensure fire safety.

43. Fire prevention regime – individual fire safety requirements that set rules for human behaviour, organising production, and/or of maintaining the territory, construction, structure and repository of an organisation or a facility, to ensure fire safety.

44. Fire fighting technical product – a special technical, scientific-technical, or intellectual product, intended to ensure fire safety, including fire fighting equipment, machinery, devices, fire-extinguishing and fire-retardant agents, special control and communication means, software and databases, and other fire-prevention and fire fighting means.

45. Determination of compliance in the field of fire safety (“the determination of compliance”) – confirmation of the compliance of facilities and/or of construction documents with the norms, technical regulations, and/or standards regulating fire safety.

46. Fire containment – actions that are intended to prevent the spread of fire and to create conditions for fire suppression with the available resources and means.

47. Agency-level fire safety supervision – an activity of the agency-level fire fighting service that is intended to monitor the fulfilment of fire safety requirements at respective facilities of State authorities and legal entities under public law, and to take appropriate measures based on the monitoring results.

48. Violation of fire safety requirements – non-fulfilment or inappropriate fulfilment of fire safety requirements.

49. Municipality safety passport – a preliminarily prepared document for assessing emergency risk levels or possible effects, or activities implemented for emergency prevention by local self-governing bodies and for planning and implementing measures in a municipality intended for the reduction and mitigation of risk.

50. Safety passport of a potentially hazardous facility – a preliminarily drafted document that is intended to determine the emergency risk level, the possibility of emergencies, and the effects of an emergency on the personnel serving in potentially hazardous facilities and on the population of adjacent territories; to assess the impact of an emergency on neighbouring facilities or the readiness for emergency prevention and response, and to plan and implement measures intended to reduce and mitigate risks in potentially hazardous facilities.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Chapter II - Unified System and Its Functioning

 

Article 6 - Unified System

1. A Unified System is a complex consisting of the executive authority of Georgia, its state sub-agencies, of legal entities under public law, Autonomous Republics, regional and local self-governing bodies and of organisations operating in the field of public safety. The aim of those units is to prevent emergencies and ensure readiness for emergencies, to respond to emergencies and to conduct recovery operations in the case of an emergency, to ensure the safety of the population, to protect economic facilities and the environment and reduce material damage, to protect the population from the emergencies occurring during military operations, and to ensure safe and stable functioning of the facilities that fall under the category of public safety.

2. The Unified System manages emergencies at political, operational, and tactical levels.

3. The Unified System implements respective measures during the main phases (emergency prevention, readiness for an emergency, emergency response, and conduct of recovery operations) of the continuous process of emergency management, organises the activity of the Response Forces, manages the Response Forces, and creates material resources.

4. The Unified System, at all management levels, is based on this Law, other legislative acts of Georgia, and the National Plan adopted/issued based on them, also on the Ordinance of the Government of Georgia on the Unified Emergency Management System, and other legal acts.

 

Article 7 - Functioning of the Unified System

1. Based on emergency threats and/or emergency forecasts, the Unified System operates by means of emergency response management bodies and the Response Forces under the relevant threat levels.

2. The Unified System functions under the following threat levels:

a) day-to-day activities - in the case of absence of an emergency threat;

b) increased readiness - in the case of a threat of the occurrence or of the development of an emergency;

c) emergency regime - in the case of the development of an emergency, and in the case of the declaration of a state of emergency or martial law.

3. The appropriate body of the Unified System makes a decision on the announcement of the threat level defined in paragraph 2 of this article according to emergency response management levels.

 

Chapter III - Classification of Emergencies; Making Records of Emergencies, Fires and of their Effects; Emergency Response Management

 

Article 8 - Classification of emergencies

1. Emergencies are classified according to their origin, spread, number of casualties, and material damage.

2. The following emergencies are defined in the territory of Georgia according to their origin:

a) man-made;

b) natural;

c) social;

d) military.

3. Based on the extent of the effects of an emergency, on the size of the Response Forces and on the material resources necessary to eliminate those effects, and according to the area and scale of the spread of the emergency, the following emergency levels are defined in the territory of Georgia:

a) national;

b) autonomous;

c) regional;

d) local;

e) facility.

4. The Government of Georgia establishes the procedure for the classification of emergencies.

5. The Agency determines the classification characteristics to accomplish public safety objectives.

 

Article 9 - Keeping records of emergencies, fires and of their effects

1. A unified state system for keeping records of emergencies, fires, and of their effects operates in Georgia.

2. The Agency provides official statistics and State statistical reporting of emergencies, fires, and of their effects.

3. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia establishes procedures for keeping records of emergencies, fires, and of their effects in agreement with the Legal Entity under Public Law - the National Statistics Office of Georgia and other concerned executive authorities of Georgia.

4. The State and local self-governing bodies, or natural and legal persons that conduct entrepreneurial activities, shall perform the procedures established for keeping records of emergencies, fires, and of their effects.

 

Article 10 - Levels of emergency response management

Emergency response management is carried out at the following levels:

a) national level - emergency response is provided by the Response Forces and the emergency rescue means located in two or more regions of the Unified System, based on the material resources that are at the disposition of the units of the Unified System;

b) autonomous level - emergency response is provided by the Response Forces of the relevant agencies of the executive authorities of the Autonomous Republic, by the Response Forces of local self-governing bodies, of organisations operating within the territory of the Autonomous Republic, and by the Response Forces of the Agency, using the material resources that are at the disposition of the territorial bodies of these executive government agencies, local self-governing bodies, organisations, and the Agency; and the emergency zone does not extend beyond the territory of the Autonomous Republic;

c) regional level - emergency response is provided by the Response Forces of the respective territorial bodies of the executive government agencies within the region, by the Response Forces of local self-governing bodies, of organisations operating within the territory of the region, and by the Response Forces of the Agency, using the material resources that are at the disposition of the territorial bodies of these executive government agencies, local self-governing bodies, organisations, and the Agency; and the emergency zone does not extend beyond the territory of the region;

d) local level - emergency response is provided by the Response Forces of the respective territorial bodies of the executive government agencies, by the Response Forces of local self-governing bodies, of organisations operating within the territory of the local self-governing body, and by the Response Forces of the Agency, using the material resources that are at the disposition of the territorial bodies of the executive government agencies, local self-governing bodies, organisations, and the Agency; and the emergency zone does not extend beyond the territory of the municipality;

e) facility level - emergency response is provided by the Response Forces and the emergency rescue means of the relevant facility, using the material resources that are at the disposition of the facility; and the emergency zone does not extend beyond the territory of the facility.

 

Article 11 - Emergency response management bodies

1. Emergency response management bodies are:

a) at the national level:

a.a) the Prime Minister of Georgia, to whom the State Security and Crisis Management Council shall submit corresponding recommendations and proposals, to make a political decision regarding emergency management;

a.b) the Inter-agency Emergency Management Operations Centre - a body formed by the designated authority from the authorised persons of the executive government agencies of the Unified System; the Centre organises and coordinates responses to expected or actual emergencies at an operational level;

a.c) Emergency Headquarters of Executive Government Agencies ('the Emergency Headquarters') - the bodies managing the units of the Unified System and empowered to organise activities of the respective units of the Unified System in the field of public safety, according to the management levels and sectoral affiliation;

b) at the Autonomous Republic level - Emergency Management Operations Centre of the Autonomous Republic ('the Operations Centre of the Autonomous Republic') - a body established by the Head of the Government of the Autonomous Republic and consisting of the Response Forces of the respective executive government agencies of the Autonomous Republic, of the Response Forces of local self-governing bodies and organisations, and of the authorised persons of the Agency's territorial unit. The Centre organises and coordinates responses to expected or actual emergencies at the Autonomous Republic level (operational level);

c) at the regional level - Regional Emergency Management Operations Centre ('Regional Operations Centre') - a body established by a state representative – the Governor, consisting of the Response Forces of the state representative - the Governor, of the Response Forces of the territorial bodies of the respective executive government agencies, of the Response Forces of local self-governing bodies and organisations, and of the authorised persons of the Agency's territorial unit. The Centre organises and coordinates responses to expected or actual emergencies at the regional level (operational level);

d) at the local level - Local Emergency Management Operations Centre (the Local Operations Centre”) – a body established by the head of the local self-governing executive body (Gamgebeli/Mayor), consisting of the Response Forces of the territorial bodies of the respective executive government agencies, of the Response Forces of local self-governing bodies and organisations, and of the authorised persons of the Agency's territorial unit. The Centre organises and coordinates responses to expected or actual emergencies at the local level (operational level);

e) at the facility level - Emergency Headquarters of the facility.

2. Emergency response according to management levels is implemented in accordance with the National Plan, the Ordinance of the Government of Georgia on the Unified Emergency Management System and other normative acts.

3. The operations centres defined in paragraph 1 of this article are established for a limited period, based on an expected or actual emergency, and on the nature and scope of the circumstances.

4. Before the establishment of an operations centre the Agency or the relevant Response Forces of the Unified System shall provide initial response to an expected or actual emergency.

5. In order to respond to an emergency, an operations centre may establish one or more field operation centres in the emergency zone or in its vicinity based on the existing circumstances. The centre(s) locally responds to the emergency and manages the Response Forces at a tactical level.

6. The head of the executive government agency and the head of the Emergency Headquarters of the facility within their powers shall at the same time be responsible for planning and ensuring public safety.

 

Article 12 - Funding of public safety measures

1. Public safety measures defined in this Law is funded from the budget of the State, of the Autonomous Republics, and of regional and local self-governing bodies respectively, and from other funds allocated under the legislation of Georgia.

2. Emergency response operations and operations for eliminating the effects of an emergency shall be funded according to the procedure determined by the Government of Georgia.

3. Organisations shall, within the rights granted to and the obligations imposed on them, fund public safety measures using their own financial resources, while budget-financed educational, child care and medical institutions shall fund public safety measures under appropriate special-purpose programmes.

 

Article 13 - Powers of the Prime Minister in protecting the population and territory from emergencies

The State Security and Crisis Management Council provides the Prime Minister with appropriate assistance for making political decisions at the national level by submitting respective recommendations and proposals on issues related to the implementation by all the agencies and support organisations within the Unified System of the activities provided for by the National Plan and by the Ordinance of the Government of Georgia on the Unified Emergency Management System.

 

Article 14 - Management levels of the Agency; powers of the Agency

1. To accomplish public safety objectives, the Agency is represented, according to its management levels, by:

a) the Agency – at the national level;

b) the territorial unit of the Agency in the Autonomous Republic of Ajara – at the autonomous level;

c) the territorial unit of the Agency that is established in a city where the administration of a state trustee - Governor (“the Governor”) is located – at the regional level;

d) the territorial unit of the Agency that is established in the relevant territory of the municipality - at the local level.

2. The special power of the Agency is the coordination of the activities of the units of the Unified System.

3. The Agency may enter into appropriate agreements with legal and natural persons to ensure emergency prevention, readiness of the Unified System, and emergency responses.

4. The Agency, within its powers, organises implementation of the following public safety measures:

a) drafting the National Plan, submitting it to the Government of Georgia for approval according to the established procedures, and supervising the implementation of the National Plan;

b) preparing methodological recommendations for analysing potential threats and emergency risks, and submitting them for approval according to the established procedures;

c) participating in the preparation of an Emergency Management Plan and supervising its implementation;

d) participating in the preparation of a Risk Management Plan and supervising its implementation;

e) preparing instructions for assessing emergencies and submitting them for approval according to the established procedures;

f) developing procedures for collecting, processing, and transmitting emergency-related information, and submitting them for approval according to the established procedures;

g) developing a list of the types of rescue operations, and submitting it for approval according to the established procedures;

h) organising the development of training programmes for all categories of the population;

i) developing procedures for notifying the population of expected or actual emergencies;

j) drafting normative acts that regulate the organisational and legal support provided for the monitoring of the facilities falling under state fire safety supervision and public safety categories and the use of fire fighting products; submitting these acts for approval according to the established procedures;

k) developing the powers and the basis of organising the units of the fire safety system for fire prevention and fire fighting;

l) exercising other rights and obligations defined by the legislation of Georgia.

5. To organise the emergency response at a tactical level, the Agency shall ensure the establishment and operation of a field operation centre in the emergency zone or in its vicinity.

6. Within the scope of the emergency risk reduction strategy, a national public consultative body - the Expert Advisory Council - is established under the Agency. The composition, goals, objectives, and rules of operation of the Council are defined by the Statute of the Expert Advisory Council. The Statute shall be approved by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia.

7. Main divisions of the Agency are:

a) structural divisions of the Agency that coordinate and control territorial and contract-based divisions of the Agency;

b) territorial divisions of the Agency that ensure fire prevention, fire fighting, and emergency rescue operations in settlements;

c) contract-based divisions of the Agency that protect the property of natural and legal persons from fire and/or emergencies.

 

Article 15 - Organisation and management of emergency response

1. The Response Forces shall carry out emergency response measures using the available material resources and emergency rescue means. Natural and legal persons performing obligatory operations shall participate in emergency response measures.

2. The activities of the Inter-agency Emergency Management Operations Centre shall be managed by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia or by the person authorised by the Minister.

3. The activities of the Emergency Headquarters shall be managed by the head of the relevant executive government agency or by the person authorised by him/her.

4. The activities of the Operations Centre of the Autonomous Republic shall be managed by the head of the Government of the Autonomous Republic or by the person authorised by him/her.

5. The activities of the Regional Operations Centre shall be managed by the Governor or by the person authorised by him/her.

6. The activities of the Local Operations Centre shall be managed by the head of the relevant local self-governing executive body (Gamgebeli/Mayor) or by the person authorised by him/her.

7. The activities of the Emergency Headquarters of the relevant facility shall be managed by the head of the facility or by the person authorised by him/her.

8. The deputy heads of the Autonomous Republic’s Operations Centre, of regional operations centres, and of local operations centres shall be the heads of respective territorial bodies of the Agency or the persons authorised by them.

9. An authorised person/persons appointed by the relevant operations centre shall manage a field operations centre; before the establishment of the relevant operations centre, an authorised person/persons of the Agency shall manage a field operations centre.

10. Emergency response in an emergency zone shall be directly managed by:

a) a person appointed by the head of the operations centre of the corresponding emergency response management level;

b) an authorised official of the Response Forces of the Unified System, who, considering the nature of the reason causing the incident, arrived at the scene of the incident before the head defined in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph.

11. If a field operations centre is established, the Response Forces shall, irrespective of their subordination, become subordinate to the head of the field operations centre upon arrival in the emergency zone.

12. In an emergency zone, the emergency response manager shall be responsible for the safety of the Response Forces of the Unified System and of other participants of the emergency response.

13. By decision of the President of Georgia, relevant units of the Military Forces of Georgia may be used to carry out emergency response measures according to the legislation of Georgia.

14. If martial law is declared, persons representing the Response Forces shall be given international identity cards of civil defence personnel, provided for in the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I, 8 June 1977).

 

Article 16 - Performing works and rendering services in the field of public safety

1. The works and services in the field of public safety are as follows:

a) protecting the property of natural and legal persons from fire and/or emergencies on the basis of a contract;

b) developing fire safety measures and/or emergency prevention and response requirements; providing technical consultation on matters related to the safety and/or protection of the population and the territory from emergencies;

c) developing organisational and technical solutions to ensure the fulfilment of fire safety, and/or emergency prevention and response requirements;

d) performing design work;

e) conducting a public safety campaign, and publishing special literature and promotional products;

f) ensuring installation, adjustment, repair and maintenance of fire fighting devices and systems;

g) performing fire safety tests on substances, materials, manufactured articles, and construction;

h) performing fire-protection and furnace-related works;

i) teaching fire safety rules and the rules of behaviour in emergencies, and ways to organise emergency management;

j) producing, testing, procuring, and importing into Georgia of fire fighting technical products;

k) constructing, reconstructing, and repairing fire fighting service buildings, construction, and repositories;

l) carrying out water rescue operations, except for the cases defined under the Law of Georgia on Maritime Rescue Service;

m) other works and services related to ensuring public safety.

2. The works and services in the field of public safety shall be provided on the basis of a contract by legal persons under private law and by natural persons, as well as by the Agency to fulfil the fire safety requirements, to prevent emergency situations and to respond to them, and to carry out fire prevention, fire fighting and water rescue operations.

3. The conclusion of the contract defined by this article is voluntary.

4. The Government of Georgia determines the fees, the types of the works to be performed, and the services to be rendered by the Agency in the field of public safety. The Agency shall carry out fire fighting and emergency response measures unconditionally.

5. The service defined in paragraph 1(a) of this article means taking special prevention and response measures on the basis of a contract to protect the property of natural and legal persons from fire and/or emergencies, including measures for organising and carrying out fire prevention, fire fighting and emergency rescue operations, for responding in the initial stage of a fire, professional training and re-training of personnel, and developing and implementing other activities necessary for the organisation of the relevant service.

 

Chapter IV - Organising the Readiness of the Units of the Unified System and of the Population in the Field of Public Safety

 

Article 17 - Training of the Response Forces and of the population

1. The training of the Response Forces and of the population in public safety shall be implemented with the purpose of acquiring knowledge and skills for preliminary determination of expected and actual emergencies, and for immediate emergency response.

2. State bodies and the bodies of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, also regional and local self-governing bodies and organisations shall, within their powers, ensure the training of Response Forces and of the population in the field of public safety.

3. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia shall organise training and re-training of the Response Forces, and ensure their constant readiness.

4. Educational institutions shall ensure that training is provided in fire safety rules and rules of behaviour in emergencies, also in fire safety requirements and emergency prevention and response requirements, using the programmes developed and coordinated with the Agency according to the established procedures.

5. The heads of entrepreneurial entities and of non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal persons shall ensure that training in fire safety rules is provided to their personnel according to the requirements of normative acts applicable in the field of fire safety.

 

Article 18 – (Deleted)

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 19 - Public safety exercises

1. In order to assess the readiness of Response Forces in the field of public safety; to check the knowledge of the actions and procedures prescribed by the Emergency Management Plan for emergency simulations and military operations,; and to improve managements skills public safety exercises ('the Exercises’) shall be conducted according to the National Plan.

2. The types of exercises are:

a) tabletop, i.e. command-post exercises

b) special tactical exercises

c) full-scale exercises.

3. The exercises shall be conducted according to the programmes and instructions approved by the Ministry of International Affairs of Georgia.

 

Chapter V - Powers of the Units of the Unified System and of the Population in the Field of Public Safety

 

Article 20 - Powers of the Government of Georgia

The Government of Georgia defines the procedures for implementing the National Plan during emergencies in times of peace and military operations, and for evacuating the population. The Government of Georgia is authorised to:

a) approve the National Plan;

b) determine main objectives, functions, and rules of action for agencies of the executive authority of Georgia in order to prevent and respond to emergencies;

c) approve, according to the legislation of Georgia, the norms and procedures for safe exploitation of facilities falling under the public safety category;

d) exercise other powers defined by the legislation of Georgia.

 

Article 21 - Powers of the executive authority of Georgia

1. In matters related to the protection of the population and the territories from emergencies, within the powers defined by the National Plan, the Ordinance of the Government of Georgia on the Unified Emergency Management System, and other normative acts, the executive authority of Georgia is authorised to:

a) notify the population of emergencies occurring in times of peace and military operations, and inform them of the actions necessary to ensure safety;

b) evacuate and accommodate the population in shelters, and/or arrange shelters for the population;

c) organise fire, engineering, chemical, radiation, medical, biological, and psychological protection measures for the population during emergencies in accordance with the National Plan;

d) provide the population with housing, primary essentials, and a necessary supply of food and water during emergencies;

e) respond to emergencies and carry out recovery operations, keep public order, restore the functioning of utility services and maintain the sustainable functioning of facilities falling under the public safety category;

f) organise funerals in the case of mass fatalities resulting from emergencies in times of peace or military operations;

g) detect emergencies at an early stage, implement special-purpose scientific and technical programmes to ensure prevention of emergencies and stable functioning of facilities falling under the public safety category during emergencies or military operations;

h) implement the state policy; for this purpose adopt/issue, within its powers, normative acts and supervise their fulfilment; organise the implementation of public safety measures according to the National Plan;

i) organise the grouping of the territories and cities of Georgia, and the categorisation of organisations;

j) develop military-civil cooperation plans;

k) determine the powers of the bodies of the executive authority of Georgia and the procedures for the interaction of these bodies with local self-governing bodies in order to classify emergencies (including emergencies caused by forest fires) and to respond to these emergencies;

l) establish Emergency Headquarters and emergency management units in the emergency management sphere;

m) plan organisational and engineering and technical measures during expected or actual emergencies, and during military operations to ensure sustainable functioning of the industries;

n) develop and implement emergency prevention measures and Risk Management Plans;

o) organise research, development, test, and design works;

p) organise exercises;

q) establish and ensure the functioning of Emergency Headquarters during expected or actual emergencies;

r) mobilise material reserves;

s) develop agency-level Emergency Management Plans and, after coordinating these plans with the Agency, have them approved by the head of the relevant agency;

t) organise the implementation of joint measures with the Agency and the Response Forces according to the procedures for military-civil cooperation;

u) ensure readiness of emergency response management bodies and of the Response Forces, and create material resources in order to prevent and respond to emergencies;

v) train and re-train Response Forces, the population and authorised officials of public and local self-governing bodies, of organisations, and of the facilities falling under the public safety category, using educational programmes coordinated with the Agency in order to prevent and respond to emergencies;

w) provide assistance to the population affected by an emergency and organise the implementation of humanitarian and social protection measures;

x) define the implementation of measures for international cooperation and host nation support;

y) protect human life on waters and ensure its safety.

2. In the field of fire safety, within the powers defined by the legislation of Georgia, agencies of the executive authority of Georgia are authorised to:

a) implement the state policy; adopt/issue normative acts for this purpose and supervise their fulfilment;

b) develop special-purpose programmes and organise their implementation and funding;

c) develop technical regulations, norms, procedures, and normative acts applicable in the field of fire safety, including documents regulating the organisation and conduct of fire fighting and emergency rescue operations;

d) prepare the expenditures side of a draft State Budget of Georgia for the purpose of taking fire safety measures and ensure that the funds allocated from the Budget are used for the intended purpose;

e) establish, reorganise, and liquidate units of the fire fighting system and/or their managing bodies;

f) organise and implement state fire safety supervision;

g) provide state informational support, establish systems for keeping statistical records of fires and of their effects;

h) define general principles for verifying compliance;

i) implement measures for legal and social protection of the Agency's personnel and their family members;

j) if necessary, organise agency-level fire safety supervision in organisations that are subordinate to the executive authority of Georgia;

k) prepare a list of critical, potentially hazardous facilities, objects of national treasure and cultural heritage, approved by an ordinance of the Government of Georgia, where a fire fighting system must be established.

3. In the field of fire safety, the agencies of the executive authority of Georgia, within the scope of their powers, shall:

a) ensure that fire safety requirements are complied with in the facilities under their subordination, and in the respective territories;

b) create conditions for engaging the population in fire prevention and fire fighting operations;

c) organise a fire fighting campaign and teach fire safety rules to the population;

d) ensure forest-fire prevention;

e) organise fire fighting and emergency rescue operations.

4. The authorised persons of the agencies of the executive authority of Georgia shall provide methodical guidelines to legal persons operating in the respective field, on issues related to the protection of their staff and safe functioning of the legal persons during emergencies.

5. Heads of the agencies of the executive authority of Georgia are responsible for their units to perform the duties assigned to them in the field of public safety according to the legislation of Georgia.

6. The agencies of the executive authority of Georgia obtain, process, and release information in the field of public safety, and exercise other powers defined by the legislation of Georgia.

7. Respective agencies of the executive authority of Georgia supervise, in accordance with the legislation of Georgia, the fulfilment of fire safety requirements with regard to forests, underground facilities for conducting mining works; production, transportation, storage, utilisation, destruction and treatment of industrial explosives; also, with regard to the exploitation of air, marine, and railway vehicles, and of floating marine equipment and structures; and of measures that ensure compliance with emergency prevention and emergency response requirements.

8. The powers of the Agency with regard to the facilities of the Ministry of Defence of Georgia shall be defined by a joint order of the Minister of Defence of Georgia and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia.

 

Article 22 - Powers of the Governments of the Autonomous Republics of Abkhazia and Ajara and of the state trustees - the Governors

The Governments of the Autonomous Republics of Abkhazia and Ajara and the Governors, within their powers and in coordination with the Agency:

a) issue legal acts in the field of public safety;

b) establish respective operations centres according to emergency response management levels;

c) organise evacuation of the population, and measures for providing the evacuated population with permanent or temporary housing;

d) receive and process relevant information in the field of public safety;

e) organise and supervise the distribution of humanitarian aid to the affected population;

f) organise overall readiness of the units of the Unified System and emergency response;

g) organise the implementation of appropriate measures for safe and stable functioning of the facilities falling under the public safety category;

h) exercise other powers defined by the legislation of Georgia, with regard to emergency prevention, readiness of the Unified System, emergency response, and organisation of recovery operations;

i) organise exercises;

j) notify the population of the threats of expected or actual emergencies according to the procedures defined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia;

k) plan and implement public safety preventive measures, develop and approve Risk Management Plans and Emergency Management Plans;

l) organise activities of Response Forces and implementation of joint measures within the respective administrative-territorial units.

 

Article 23 - Powers delegated to municipalities in matters related to the protection of the population and of the territory from emergencies

Municipalities, within the powers delegated to them in matters related to the protection of the population and of the territory from emergencies, are authorised to:

a) prepare and adopt the relevant normative acts in order to exercise powers in the field of public safety as defined in this article and Article 24 of this Law;

b) establish operations centres according to emergency response management levels;

c) mobilise respective Response forces during emergencies and organise their involvement in emergency rescue operations; also, ensure training and constant readiness of the Response Forces;

d) if necessary, make a decision to evacuate the population during emergencies and military operations, and provide the evacuated population with permanent or temporary housing;

e) receive and process relevant information in the field of public safety;

f) ensure that humanitarian aid is distributed to the affected population and to helpless persons;

g) organise and participate in emergency response and recovery operations;

h) take measures necessary for ensuring stable functioning of the facilities falling under the public safety category;

i) organise exercises;

j) notify the population of the threats of expected or actual emergencies according to the procedures defined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia;

k) plan and implement, in coordination with the Agency, public safety preventive measures, develop and approve Risk Management Plans and Emergency Management Plans;

l) organise the training of the population in public safety according to the educational programmes agreed with the Agency;

m) keep the population informed in the field of public safety;

n) participate in completing municipality safety passport forms according to the established procedures;

o) mobilise public safety reservists.

 

Article 24 - Powers delegated to municipalities in the field of fire safety

1. Municipalities, within the powers delegated to them in the field of fire safety, are authorised to:

a) establish fire and rescue units of the municipal fire fighting system, according to the legislation of Georgia, in such settlements within the municipality that have no fire and rescue units of the Agency, in order to conduct fire fighting and emergency rescue operations;

b) create conditions for fire fighting equipment to taking water, at any time of the year, for fire fighting purposes from man-made and natural fire fighting water-supply sources (fire fighting water pipelines, fire emergency reservoirs, water storage reservoirs, rivers, lakes, pools, etc.) located within the territory of the municipality;

c) organise protection of forest areas from fire and participate in fire fighting measures;

d) organise the notification of the population and fire and rescue units of fire;

e) develop and implement measures for ensuring fire safety of municipal facilities;

f) include fire safety measures in plans and programmes for the development of populated areas; also, participate in the development of long-term programmes for constructing fire and rescue depots;

g) implement, within their powers, measures for supervising urban construction while planning and building populated areas, to fulfil fire safety requirements determined by technical regulations, construction norms, and rules;

h) ensure unimpeded access of fire and emergency rescue equipment to a fire location within a populated area;

i) participate in the determination of the procedures for involving the Response Forces and means in fire fighting and emergency rescue operations in the territory of a municipality;

j) assist public authorities in delivering information on fire safety measures to the population; also, organise and hold meetings with the population;

k) participate in teaching fire safety rules to the population and in involving the population in fire prevention and fire fighting operations;

l) establish a special fire prevention regime if a fire threat increases, and take additional fire safety measures during the fire prevention regime;

m) take appropriate measures, as far as possible, for containing a fire and for protecting humans and property from fire before fire and rescue units of the state and/or municipal fire fighting system arrive at the place of the incident.

2. The Government of Georgia makes a decision on the delegation of the powers defined in paragraph 1(a) of this article to the municipality, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia concludes a contract on the delegation of these powers to the municipality.

3. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia shall ensure the sectoral supervision of the activity of local self-governing bodies when exercising the powers delegated under Article 23 of this Law and under this article.

 

Article 25 - Obligations of organisations

1. Organisations operating in the field of protecting the population and the territory from emergencies shall:

a) plan and implement emergency prevention measures within their powers;

b) prepare an Emergency Management Plan on the basis of an analysis of potential threats and emergency risks, and approve the plan after agreeing it with the Agency;

c) create necessary Response Forces and material resources, and ensure their constant readiness;

d) notify the designated authority on a potential emergency threat according to the procedures determined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia;

e) organise rescue and other emergency operations during emergencies in the facilities under their subordination and in their vicinity according to the National Plan;

f) participate in emergency response and recovery operations according to the legislation of Georgia;

g) organise exercises and training within their powers according to the legislation of Georgia;

h) ensure constant readiness of the local systems and means of notifying the population of emergencies;

i) ensure stable functioning of organisations, and protect their personnel from emergencies in times of peace and military operations;

j) exercise other powers defined by the legislation of Georgia.

2. Potentially hazardous facilities shall prepare a safety passport and a safety declaration according to an established form, and submit it to the relevant territorial unit of the Agency.

3. Natural and legal persons with relevant powers and experience may be involved in emergency response and recovery operations with their consent and by decision of the head of a field operations centre.

 

Article 26 - Rights and obligations of the population in protecting the population and the territory from emergencies

1. The population has the right to:

a) protect their own lives, health and property during emergencies;

b) use collective and individual protection means and other material resources during emergencies, according to the National Plan;

c) receive necessary information on safety measures;

d) participate, within its powers, in emergency prevention, in the readiness of the Unified System, in emergency response, and in recovery operations according to the legislation of Georgia.

e) join volunteer rescue teams and learn the rules of behaviour during emergencies.

2. The population is obligated to:

a) fulfil the requirements determined by the legislation of Georgia with regard to the protection of the population and the territory from emergencies;

b) take safety measures in everyday life and official activities; fulfil industrial and environmental safety requirements the non-fulfilment of which may cause emergencies;

с) perform obligatory operations according to the legislation of Georgia;

d) based on the necessity and within their capabilities assist Response Forces in carrying out rescue and other emergency operations.

 

Article 27 - Rights and obligations of the population in the field of fire safety

1. The population has the right to:

a) protect their own lives, health, and property during fire;

b) participate in determining the causes of the fire that harmed the health and property of the population;

c) receive information, including from fire and rescue units, on fire safety matters;

d) participate in ensuring fire safety, or in voluntary fire and/or rescue activities.

2. The population is obligated to:

a) fulfil fire safety requirements;

b) immediately notify units of the fire fighting system of fire;

c) take appropriate measures, to the extent possible, to save people and property and to fight the fire before fire and rescue units arrive at the place of the incident;

d) comply with orders, decrees, and other lawful demands of an authorised official who is implementing state fire safety supervision.

 

Chapter VI - Protection of the Population and the Territory from Emergencies

 

Article 28 - Emergency prevention

1. The population and the territory is protected from emergencies by carrying out integrated measures, including by emergency prevention.

2. Emergency prevention is a complex of legal, organisational, economic, engineering and technical, sanitary and hygienic, sanitary and epidemiological, and other measures that consist of:

a) measures to forecast the occurrence of emergencies, and to monitor and prevent emergencies;

b) measures taken for systematic reduction of dangerous natural phenomena and damaging potential of the processes, and respective engineering and technical measures;

c) measures taken for preventing large-scale industrial accidents, for increasing the safety of technological (production) processes and the reliability of the operation of machinery;

d) mapping of emergency risks, division of the territory and cities of Georgia into groups and organisations into categories;

e) preparation of safety passports for potentially hazardous facilities and for municipalities;

f) other preventive measures.

3. The units of the Unified System shall carry out emergency prevention according to the National Plan; potentially hazardous facilities and organisations shall carry out emergency prevention according to Emergency Management Plans, the ordinances of the Government of Georgia on the Unified Emergency Management System and on Approving Procedures for Developing Emergency Prevention Measures.

 

Article 29 - Dividing the territory and cities of Georgia into groups and organisations into categories in the field of public safety

1. In the field of public safety, the territory and cities of Georgia are divided into groups, and organisations are divided into categories. The division is based on their defensive, economic, and administrative significance, the number of the population in the territory and in the cities, the assessment of the level of potential threat, strategic and vital significance of organisations. The Government of Georgia determines these groups and categories.

2. Dividing the territory and cities of Georgia into groups and dividing organisations into categories is intended to develop public safety measures in advance and implement these measures on such scale that makes it possible to protect the population, the territory and cities of Georgia, and organisations from damaging factors caused by emergencies occurring in times of peace and military operations, including from chemical poisoning, radiation pollution, and catastrophic flooding.

 

Article 30 - Basic measures for protecting the population from emergencies

1. The basic measures for protecting the population from emergencies occurring in times of peace and military operations comprise: the accommodation of the population in shelters and/or evacuation of the population; and other measures intended to protect the population from fire, engineering, chemical, radiological, medical, and biological threats.

2. Personnel of the facilities falling under the public safety category shall be protected in shelters from the emergencies occurring in times of peace or military operations.

3. Underground railway structures, caves, bunkers, tunnels, and lower ground floors and repositories of buildings and structures (including dual-purpose structures) suitable for shelters, shall be used to protect the population.

4. Persons entitled to ownership, use, and/or disposal of the property shall ensure the maintenance and use of shelters according to their designated purposes.

5. Relevant territorial divisions of the Agency shall, according to the established procedures, monitor and keep records of the lower ground floors and repositories of shelters or structures used as shelters.

6. The designated purpose of the lower ground floors and repositories of shelters or structures used as shelters may not be altered without agreement with the Agency.

7. The decision on the evacuation of the population is made by the heads of the executive authority, the heads of the Governments of the Autonomous Republics, the Governors, and the heads of local self-governing bodies. The decisions are made according to emergency response management levels and are carried out on the basis of pre-developed evacuation plans according to the procedures determined by the Government of Georgia. These decisions are taken in consideration of the damaging factors caused by emergencies in times of peace or military operations.

8. The National Plan determines the measures for fire, engineering, chemical, radiological, medical, and biological protection, and the organisation of their implementation.

 

Article 31 - Performing obligatory operations

1. During the emergency response measures taken within an emergency zone, natural and legal persons shall perform obligatory operations according to the procedures determined by the Government of Georgia.

2. Obligatory operations shall be performed only if the Response Forces of the Unified System and the material resources are insufficient to carry out emergency response measures.

3. Natural and legal persons that performed obligatory operations shall be paid for the services rendered according to the established procedure.

 

Article 32 - Informing the population in the field of public safety

1. The population shall be informed in the field of public safety by means of mass media, publications, special literature, advertising materials, thematic exhibitions, shows, and conferences, and by other forms of informing the population, which are not restricted under the legislation of Georgia.

2. The units of the Unified System shall, within their powers, ensure that the population is informed in the field of public safety. Persons with limited capabilities (hearing-impaired and visually impaired persons) shall be provided with relevant information in the form that is appropriate for them.

3. The information delivered to the population in the field of public safety shall include:

a) data on anticipated and actual emergencies, and on the boundaries of their spread;

b) data on the scope of activity of the organisation related to the emergency; in the case of an accident - data on the nature of the risk and on the possible impact of the accident on humans and the environment;

c) effects of the emergency;

d) rules of behaviour during emergencies;

e) actions implemented and measures taken for the protection of the population.

4. To provide the population with information, and to ensure the implementation of measures for emergency prevention and readiness, the Agency shall establish an emergency data bank, where data on emergencies is entered.

5. Meteorological offices and other authorised bodies shall, immediately and free of charge, provide the Agency with information on the expected phenomena unfavourable for fire safety and on their predictions.

6. At the request of the Agency, the mass media shall publish urgent information about fire safety, to ensure the safety of the population.

7. The state and local self-governing bodies shall inform the population of the decisions made to ensure fire safety, and shall promote the dissemination of knowledge in the sphere of fire safety.

 

Article 33 - Publicity of information on public safety

1. Information on public safety consists of data on the existing engineering, radiological, chemical, bacteriological, fire, and ecological conditions, and of the data on the protection of the population and the territory from emergencies, and on measures to be implemented for their safety.

2. Information on emergencies shall be open to the public, except for the information restricted under the legislation of Georgia.

3. In the field of public safety, an authorised person may not:

a) conceal information from and/or deliver incorrect information to the population;

b) delay the provision of information to the population.

 

Chapter VII - Ensuring Fire Safety

 

Article 34 - Fire safety system

1. The fire safety system in Georgia is a complex of forces and means, and of legal, organisational, economic, social, and scientific and technical measures intended for fire fighting.

2. The units of the fire safety system in Georgia are:

a) public authorities

b) local self-governing bodies

c) natural and legal persons participating in ensuring fire safety according to the legislation of Georgia.

3. The basic functions of the units of the fire safety system is defined by this Law and other legal acts.

 

Article 35 - Types and main objectives of the fire fighting system

1. The fire fighting system in Georgia is divided into:

a) the State fire fighting system

b) municipal fire fighting systems

c) agency-level fire fighting systems

d) private fire fighting systems

e) voluntary fire and/or rescue services.

2. In the field of fire safety, the main objectives of the fire -fighting system are to:

a) organise and carry out fire prevention;

b) rescuing humans and saving property during fire, and rendering first aid to the affected people;

c) organising and carrying out fire fighting and emergency rescue operations.

3. The fire fighting system shall participate in the prevention and elimination of mass disorders only where its involvement is necessary, and shall only perform fire fighting and/or emergency rescue operations.

 

Article 36 - State fire -fighting system

1. The state fire -fighting system is the main type of fire fighting system in Georgia. The Agency ensures the accomplishment of the objectives of the state fire fighting system and, within its powers:

a) carries out fire prevention and organises fire fighting and emergency rescue operations;

b) rescues humans and saves property during fire, and renders first aid to the affected people;

c) protects the property of natural and legal persons from fire;

d) coordinates the activities of fire and rescue divisions of different fire fighting systems;

e) drafts normative acts on the organisation of fire safety, of fire fighting and emergency rescue operations, and on the application of fire fighting products and of emergency rescue means, and submits them to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia for approval.

2. To protect property of natural and legal persons from fire, a contract-based state fire fighting division ('the contract-based division') may be established, upon the owner’s request, in facilities of vital importance, in potentially hazardous facilities and in facilities of national treasure, cultural heritage and mass gathering. The procedures for the contract-based divisions to perform operations and provide services in the field of fire safety are approved by the Government of Georgia.

 

Article 37 - Municipal fire fighting systems

1. According to Article 24(2) of this Law, in settlements within a municipal territory where there are no fire and rescue divisions of the Agency, the local self-governing bodies may establish fire and rescue divisions of the municipal fire fighting system.

2. The local self-government representative bodies shall determine procedures for establishing fire and rescue divisions of municipal fire fighting systems subordinated to local self-governing bodies, their rules of operation, goals and objectives, and the procedures for their interaction with various fire fighting system divisions as determined by the legislation of Georgia.

3. The respective divisions of the Agency shall, within their powers, inspect and provide methodical assistance to fire and rescue divisions of municipal fire fighting systems, according to the established procedures.

4. The fire and rescue divisions of a municipal fire fighting system shall participate in planned fire tactical training and in operations for supressing fire, and for eliminating accidents, catastrophes, natural disasters, and the effects of an emergency in the territory of Georgia.

5. The designated purpose of the property of fire and rescue divisions of municipal fire fighting systems may not be altered without a prior notice to the Agency.

 

Article 38 - Agency-level fire fighting system

1. Public authorities and legal entities under public law may establish divisions of the agency-level fire fighting system to ensure fire safety.

2. The terms for the establishment, reorganisation, and liquidation of the divisions of the agency-level fire fighting system, for the implementation of their activities and for the performance of official duties by their personnel, shall be determined in the respective statutes in agreement with the Agency.

 

Article 39 - Private fire fighting system

1. A private fire fighting system is established in the facilities of entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal persons. The establishment, reorganisation and liquidation of a private fire fighting system shall be carried out according to the Civil Code of Georgia and the Law of Georgia on Entrepreneurs.

2. The owner of a private fire fighting system determines the number of the personnel and volume of the technical equipment of the system. The owner defines the fire fighting rules and conditions for the divisions of a private fire fighting system according to the norms, normative acts, technical regulations, and/or standard requirements regulating fire safety.

3. The respective divisions of the Agency shall, within their powers, inspect and provide methodical assistance to the divisions of private fire fighting systems according to the established procedures.

4. A private fire fighting system shall fulfil operations and provide services in the field of fire safety based on the concluded agreement.

 

Article 40 - Voluntary fire and/or rescue service

1. A voluntary fire and/or rescue service is a division established at the initiative of natural and/or legal persons and is intended to provide voluntary participation in fire prevention and/or fire fighting operations, and to carry out emergency rescue operations.

2. A voluntary fire and/or rescue service shall carries out its activities according to the legislation of Georgia.

 

Chapter VIII - Organising Fire Safety, Fire Fighting, and Emergency Rescue Operations

 

Article 41 - Normative legal regulation of fire safety

1. Normative legal regulation of fire safety is implemented under normative acts issued/adopted by state authorities; in municipalities the regulation is carried out also under the normative acts adopted by local self-governing bodies.

2. The draft normative acts adopted by the executive authority of Georgia and local self-governing bodies, which set the fire safety requirements, shall be agreed with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, as with a body implementing sectoral supervision.

 

Article 42 - Developing and taking fire safety measures

1. Fire safety measures shall be developed according to the legislation of Georgia and normative acts applicable in the field of fire safety, also on the basis of fire fighting experience and assessment of fire hazards of substances, materials, production processes, manufactured articles, constructions, buildings and structures.

2. Manufacturers (suppliers) of substances, materials, manufactured articles, and plants shall, as defined by the legislation of Georgia, state the fire-hazard characteristics of their products, and the fire safety requirements necessary for working with those items.

3. While developing and adopting fire safety measures for buildings, structures, and other facilities of entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal persons, and while designing those facilities, account shall be taken of measures for the evacuation of people during a fire.

4. The Government of Georgia, the Governments of the Autonomous Republics, and local self-governing bodies shall, within their powers, develop fire safety measures for the Autonomous Republics and municipalities.

5. Explosion and fire hazardous facilities shall develop fire fighting plans taking into account the measures for ensuring human safety.

 

Article 43 - Organising fire fighting and emergency rescue operations

1. Organisation of fire fighting is a complex of operational-tactical and engineering-technical measures to protect humans and property from fire hazards, and to carry out fire suppression and emergency rescue operations.

2. During fires, accidents, catastrophes, natural disasters, and emergencies the Agency shall ensure the involvement of the forces and means of fire and rescue divisions into emergency response measures and their management according to the procedures for involving the forces and means of fire and rescue divisions in emergency response measures during fires, accidents, catastrophes, natural disasters, and emergencies.

3. The Agency shall coordinate the actions of fire and rescue divisions of different types of fire units participating in the suppression of fires of special complexity.

4. The respective division of the Agency shall, in coordination with local self-governing bodies, develop and approve plans for involving the forces and means of fire and rescue divisions of different types of the fire units in fire fighting and emergency rescue operations at national, autonomous, regional, and local levels.

5. The fire and rescue divisions shall arrive at the incident sites unconditionally to carry out the fire fighting and emergency rescue operations.

6. A single telephone number – ”112” – is established in the telephone network of Georgia for reporting fires and incidents.

7. During fire fighting and emergency rescue operations, the obligatory measures shall be taken to ensure safety of humans and to save property, including measures for:

a) arriving at the sites of spread (or possible spread) of fire hazards and occurrence of accidents, catastrophes, and emergency hazards;

b) creating conditions for preventing the spread of fire, accidents, catastrophes, and emergencies, and for eliminating their consequences;

c) restricting or prohibiting entry into fire origin points, and into accident, catastrophe and emergency zones, and the movement of transport and pedestrians in the vicinity of these zones.

d) protecting fire fighting sites, and accident, catastrophe and emergency zones (including the period of investigating their causes and circumstances);

e) evacuating people and property from fire, accident, catastrophe sites, and emergency zones; rendering first aid to the affected persons.

8. Unless otherwise provided for by the legislation of Georgia, the fire fighting efforts shall be directly managed by a senior official of the relevant fire and rescue division - the manager of fire fighting operations who arrived at the site and who under the principle of unity of command manages the personnel of the fire fighting system and other forces involved in fire fighting.

9. The manager of fire fighting operations shall determine the boundaries of the territory where fire fighting actions are implemented, and the procedures and particularities of implementing these actions, and shall make decisions on rescuing humans and saving property.

10. The manager of fire fighting operations shall be responsible for implementing the planned tasks intended to ensure the safety of the personnel of the fire fighting system and of other forces involved in fire fighting.

11. All officials and natural persons shall obey the instructions of the fire fighting manager in the territory where the fire fighting actions are being implemented.

12. During the fire fighting operations, no one shall interfere with the actions of the manager of fire fighting operations or alter his/her orders.

13. The personnel of a fire fighting system, and other participants involved in fire suppression or in the elimination of the consequences of accidents, catastrophes, and emergencies, shall be exempt from indemnification of the damage caused by them while acting under the conditions of extreme necessity and/or reasonable risk.

14. During fire fighting, the personnel of a fire fighting system shall take measures to save material evidence and protect property.

 

Article 44 - Personnel of the fire and rescue divisions of a municipal fire protection service

The procedure for serving by the personnel of fire and rescue divisions of a municipal fire protection service, its staff number, structure and the form of its uniform shall be established by the bodies of a respective municipality in coordination with the Agency. When performing official duties, the personnel shall wear a uniform of an established form, which is provided to it within the statutory standard.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 45 - Taking fire safety measures and carrying out fire fighting in the forests of Georgia

1. Fire safety measures shall be taken and fire fighting shall be carried out in the forests of Georgia according to the Forest Code of Georgia.

2. The emergency effects caused by fire in the forests of Georgia shall be eliminated according to the legislation of Georgia.

 

Article 46 - Special fire prevention regime

1. A special fire prevention regime is additional fire safety requirements that may be established by decision of the Government of Georgia or local self-governing bodies in the respective territory, if the threat of fire increases.

2. During a special fire prevention regime, additional fire safety requirements defined by normative acts regulating the field of fire safety shall be established in the respective territories, including requirements for the involvement of the population in fire containment outside the populated areas, the restrictions for natural persons to enter the forest, performance of the additional measures (increasing fire separation distances between the boundaries of populated areas, creating mineralised firebreaks), that will limit the spread of forest fire and other fires outside the populated areas into adjacent territory.

 

Article 47 - Determination of compliance

Compliance shall be determined according to the legislation of Georgia.

 

Chapter IX - Supervision of Facilities Falling under the State Fire Supervision and Public Safety Category

 

Article 48 - Supervision of facilities falling under the state fire supervision and public safety category

1. The Agency and its territorial divisions ('the Supervisory Authority’) shall conduct state fire and public safety supervision of facilities falling under state fire supervision and public safety, to check the performance of fire safety requirements by natural persons, and emergency prevention and response requirements, and to take measures according to the results of this inspection.

2. The procedures and terms for conducting state fire and public safety supervision are defined by the Regulations on Implementing State Fire and Public Safety Supervision in Georgia, which is approved by the Government of Georgia.

3. The Agency shall, within its powers, develop legal, recommendatory, and methodical documents for organising and conducting state fire and public safety supervision of facilities falling under state fire supervision and public safety, and submit them to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia for approval.

 

Article 49 - Facilities falling under state fire supervision and public safety

1. The following are the facilities falling under state fire supervision:

a) state and local self-governing bodies, and buildings and structures owned by them;

b) educational, childcare, sports, medical, and entertainment buildings and structures;

c) facilities included in the list of monuments of cultural heritage;

d) public buildings and structures over 28 metres high, and public building and structures having one or more lower ground floors;

e) multi-purpose buildings and complexes, trading centres, trading complexes, and hypermarkets, clubs, and entertainment-recreational centres of more than 300 m² area; hotels, tourist bases, health resorts, holiday centres, and camping buildings and structures with more than 100 beds;

f) railway and bus stations, buildings and structures of subway stations, airports and seaports (harbours);

g) oil tank farms and terminals, filling stations and complexes (petrol and gas filling and refuelling stations), having tanks with total capacity of 500 m³ and over;

h) buildings, structures and repositories with an area of 1 000 m² or more and storing fire hazardous substances, materials, products, and raw material;

i) grain storage and processing plants (integrated flour milling plants), fire and explosion hazardous facilities, and fire hazardous facilities, which have fire and explosion hazardous repositories and/or areas.

2. The list of facilities falling under the public safety is determined by an ordinance of the Government of Georgia that contains a list of special economic facilities, facilities necessary for preserving the population's life and living conditions, facilities of vital importance, and potentially hazardous facilities.

3. No supervision shall be conducted of the facilities that, under this Law, do not fall within the state fire supervision and public safety category.

4. Fire hazardous and fire and explosion hazardous categories of buildings, structures, and repositories shall be defined for industrial and storage structures and repositories (irrespective of their function) according to the normative acts regulating the field of fire safety.

5. The rights and obligations defined for entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal persons in the field of fire safety shall apply to the facilities falling under state fire supervision.

 

Article 50 - Powers of the Supervisory Body

1. The Supervisory Body, within its powers and according to the legislation of Georgia, is authorised to:

a) request and receive, based on a substantiated written request, from the facilities falling under state fire supervision and public safety information and documents necessary for conducting an inspection;

b) enter, in accordance with this Law, into the territories and premises of the facilities falling under state fire supervision and public safety, carry out their inspection and examination, and test local fire prevention and notification systems, and implement other supervisory measures determined by the legislation of Georgia;

c) if a violation is detected, issue an appropriate order for the elimination of the detected violation of the fire safety and emergency prevention and response requirements, or for their fulfilment;

d) submit proposals and recommendations to the authorities of the State, of the Autonomous Republics, and of local self-government, and to Governors, on the implementation of measures for ensuring the fulfilment of fire safety and emergency prevention and response requirements;

e) study and investigate the causes of fire according to the established procedures;

f) receive necessary information, explanations, reports, documents and their copies with regard to the cases and materials related to a fire, from representatives of entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal persons, and from natural persons and, if necessary, invite these persons for these purposes;

g) draw up a report of an administrative offence in the case of violation or non-fulfilment of the requirements in the field of fire safety, consider an administrative offence case, and impose an administrative penalty on the administrative offender;

h) participate, according to the legislation of Georgia, as a different administrative body in the process of issuing construction permits (at the relevant stage of administrative proceedings) to the facilities falling under state fire supervision, in order to fulfil fire safety requirements; carry out testing of fire prevention devices and systems and prepare an appropriate report;

i) apply to a court and request full or partial termination of the operation of the buildings and structures, industrial sites, aggregates and/or repositories of the facilities falling under state fire supervision, or full or partial termination of certain works, if violations and/or non-fulfilment of fire safety requirements is revealed, and it causes a fire risk and/or a threat to human safety.

2. When entering facilities falling under state fire supervision and public safety to conduct an inspection, an authorised official of the Supervisory Body shall present an official identity certificate and an order of inspection issued by the head of the Supervisory Body.

3. Facilities falling under state fire supervision and public safety shall ensure the entry of authorised officials of the Supervisory Body for the purpose of performing their duties, into the facilities falling under state fire supervision and public safety.

4. In the field of supervision of facilities falling under state fire supervision and public safety, compliance with instructions and orders of the heads of the Supervisory Body is be mandatory for their subordinates.

5. By virtue of their positions, the heads of the respective supervisory bodies are, at the same time, chief state inspectors of state fire and public safety supervision. The list of other officials (state inspectors) of the Supervisory Body and their respective rights and obligations in state fire supervision and public safety are defined by an ordinance of the Government of Georgia.

 

Article 51 - Rights and obligations of entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal persons in the field of fire safety

1. In the field of fire safety, entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal persons have the right to:

a) set up and finance a fire fighting unit according to established procedures and to reorganise and liquidate the unit;

b) submit proposals on fire safety to state and local self-governing bodies;

c) conduct works to determine the causes and circumstances of the fire;

d) determine social and economic incentives for ensuring fire safety;

e) receive information and appropriate recommendations, within their authority, on fire safety issues from fire fighting system divisions according to the established procedures;

f) support the activities of volunteer fire-fighters.

2. Entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal persons acting in the field of fire safety shall:

a) fulfil fire safety requirements, and the orders, decrees, and other lawful demands of an authorised official of the Supervisory Body;

b) ensure teaching of fire safety rules to their staff members according to the established procedure;

c) at the request of an authorised official of the Supervisory Body, provide him/her with information on fire safety conditions in their buildings and structures, on fire hazards of the products manufactured by them, and on fires occurring in their territory, and their consequences;

d) maintain fire prevention means and systems in good working order, including primary fire fighting equipment, and ensure that they are used for the intended purpose;

e) assist divisions of the fire fighting system in fire fighting;

f) allocate necessary forces and means, where available, while carrying out fire fighting operations in their territories;

g) develop and adopt fire safety measures;

h) immediately notify the divisions of the fire fighting system of the occurrence of fire, malfunction of fire prevention means and systems, and changes in roads and exits.

3. Entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal persons shall, within their powers, supervise the fire safety system in the facilities under their subordination, and shall be responsible for the fulfilment of fire safety requirements.

 

Article 52 - Liability for violation of the Law

1. According to the legislation of Georgia, liability for violation of fire safety and of emergency prevention and response requirements shall be imposed on:

a) a physical person - in the case of a physical person;

b) the heads of entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal persons - in the case of entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal persons;

c) a person in charge of ensuring compliance with fire safety, emergency prevention and response requirements - in the case of the state bodies, bodies of the Autonomous Republics, local self-governing bodies, and legal entities under public law.

2. Penalties for violation of other requirements under this Law shall be determined by law.

 

Chapter IX¹ – Hiring and serving procedures at the Agency

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 52¹ – Service at the Agency

1. The Agency employees shall be divided into the fire rescue/rescue personnel and the civilian personnel according to functions.

2. The fire rescue/rescue personnel of the Agency shall include fire rescuers and rescuers who, respectively, are involved in fire prevention and fire fighting measures, perform emergency and rescue works, manage and organise these activities/directly perform rescue works, are involved in emergency prevention and response measures, manage and organise these activities. A fire rescuer and a rescuer of the Agency (except for a contract division employee and a person employed under a labour contract) shall be awarded a special state rank.

3. The civilian personnel of the Agency shall include employees who perform functions related to the financial, logistic, legal, and organisational support of the Agency activities, and/or other supporting functions that do not provide for direct performance of the functions under paragraph 2 of this article. A member of the civilian personnel of the Agency shall not be awarded a special state rank.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 52² – Hiring of an Agency employee

1. A citizen of Georgia/an alien (for the purposes of this article, an alien is a person defined under Article 2(a) of the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons) may be appointed/hired as fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency if he/she is at least 18 years of age, has command of the state language of Georgia, has obtained at least complete general education, can fulfil assigned functions in view of his/her personal and business qualities, health status and physical training, and meets other requirements as defined under the legislation of Georgia.

3. A person shall be appointed to the full-time position of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency as a result of a special competition. The procedure for conducting a special competition at the Agency for a fire rescuer and a rescuer shall be determined by an order of the Minister of the Internal Affairs of Georgia.

4. When hired, or after being hired, a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency shall study an appropriate special vocational education programme, a special retraining and/or a skill development course/programme. The procedure for studying a special vocational education programme, a special retraining and/or a skill development course/programme shall be approved by the Minister of the Internal Affairs of Georgia.

5. Upon being appointed/hired, a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency shall take the oath of a fire rescuer/rescuer. The text of the oath of a fire rescuer/rescuer shall be approved by the Minister of the Internal Affairs of Georgia.

6. The issues with respect to serving by a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency that are not regulated by this Law, also the procedure for hiring an employee on the civilian personnel list of the Agency, and for serving by him/her shall be determined by an appropriate order of the Minister of the Internal Affairs of Georgia.

7. A fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency shall wear a uniform of a standard form established under an appropriate procedure, samples of which shall be approved by the Minister of the Internal Affairs of Georgia.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 52³ – Restrictions imposed on hiring of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency and on serving by him/her

1. The following persons shall not be hired as fire rescuers/rescuers at the Agency:

a) a person convicted for an intentional crime;

b) a person against whom a criminal prosecution is in progress;

c) a person who has been recognised by court as a person with limited legal capacity, or as a beneficiary of support, unless otherwise defined by court judgement;

d) a person who has been deprived of the right to hold a respective position;

e) a person whose health status, according to medical report, fails to meet the necessary requirements for holding a respective position;

f) a person ill with alcoholism, drug addiction, toxicomania, mental and/or other disease. The list of these diseases shall be jointly compiled by the Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia;

g) a person who has received a negative evaluation following the special check-up.

2. The following restrictions shall be imposed on performing other paid work (except for scientific, teaching or creative activities) by a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency:

a) a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency with a special state rank may not perform other paid work, or hold another position at a public or private institution;

b) a person employed by the Agency under a labour contract, as well as a contract division employee may, with the written consent of the Agency director, hold another position, and/or perform other paid work at the same institution or elsewhere.

3. A fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency may not go on strike, participate in a gathering and a manifestation, or be a member of a political union.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 52⁴ – Working time of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency

1. A non-standard working day shall be determined for a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency.

2. During martial law or an emergency, or another extreme situation, the Agency shall switch to the emergency mode of operations.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 52⁵ – Vacation for a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency

1. Duration of an annual paid vacation for a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency shall be 30 calendar days.

2. Duration of an annual paid vacation for a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency with the length of employment in the Agency of more than 5 years shall be 35 calendar days, and for a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency with the length of employment of more than 10 years, the duration of an annual paid vacation shall be 40 calendar days.

3. If needed, the vacation of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency may be terminated and the fire rescuer/rescuer may be called back to continue working.

4. A fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency may be granted a leave for pregnancy, childbirth and baby care, and for adopting a new-born under the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 52⁶ – Temporary removal of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency from post

1. A fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency may be temporarily removed from post by an order of the Agency director on the basis of a court ruling, a substantiated written request of an investigating authority, an appropriate report of the General Inspection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia or a request of the head of a respective unit of the Agency until the final judgement on a criminal proceeding due to his/her conviction is made.

2. If acquitted, a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency temporarily removed from post must be reinstated in the same post, and when this is not possible – in the equivalent post at the Agency.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 52⁷ – Procedure for releasing/dismissing a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency from office

1. A fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency may be released/dismissed from office:

a) based on a personal application (report);

b) in the course of downsizing or reorganisation followed by downsizing;

c) due to liquidation of a structural/territorial unit;

d) due to expiry of the period for placement in temporary assignment to the Human resources Department;

e) due to reaching the maximum employment age;

f) due to expiry of years of employment, on his/her request;

g) due to a disciplinary misconduct committed, or a court judgement of conviction against him/her entered into legal force;

h) due to failure to comply with the requirement to discontinue activities incompatible with the position;

i) due to transfer to another institution;

j) due to the health status and/or prolonged inability to work, according to medical commission report;

k) due to declaration as missing or recognition as a person with limited legal capacity, as a beneficiary of support or declaration as dead, unless otherwise determined by court judgement;

l) due to death;

m) due to expiry of probation period and unsatisfactory results;

n) in case there are negative results during a special check-up;

o) based on another reason directly provided for by the legislation of Georgia.

2. The decision on releasing/dismissing a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency from office shall be made by the Agency director.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 52⁸ – Placement of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency in temporary assignment to the Human Resources Department

1. A fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency (except for a person employed under a labour contract and an a contract division employee) may, by an order of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia or the Agency director, be dismissed from office and placed in temporary assignment to the HR Department for a maximum of four months:

a) based on a personal application (report);

b) in the course of downsizing or reorganisation followed by downsizing;

c) in the course of liquidation of a respective structural/territorial unit of the Agency.

2. A fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency placed in temporary assignment to the Human Resources Department may be assigned to temporarily perform his/her duties.

3. A fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency placed in temporary assignment to the Human Resources Department shall be deemed notified of his/her possible dismissal from office from the day he/she was placed in temporary assignment to the Human Resources Department.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 52⁹ – Motivation of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency and forms of motivation

1. The following forms of motivation shall be used in relation to a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency for the exemplar performance of his/her official duties, for long and faithful service, and for performing an extremely difficult or significant assignment:

a) commendations;

b) granting a pecuniary bonus;

c) rewarding with a valuable gift;

d) awarding a certificate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia/the Agency;

e) awarding a badge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia/the Agency;

f) awarding a medallion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia/the Agency;

g) awarding a medal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia/the Agency;

h) prematurely promoting to the next special state rank;

i) prematurely lifting a disciplinary penalty;

j) nominating for a state award.

2. Several forms of motivation may be used in relation to a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency at the same time.

3. The Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia and the Agency director shall have the right to reward a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency under the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

4. The procedure for motivating employees of the Agency shall be approved by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia.

5. The honorary list of fire rescuers/rescuers of the Agency, as well as the procedure for including a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency into the honorary list of fire rescuers/rescuers of the Agency shall be approved by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia upon recommendation of the Agency director.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 52¹⁰ – Types of a disciplinary misconduct and disciplinary penalty of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency

1. Types of a disciplinary misconduct of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency shall be as follows:

a) non-fulfilment of official duties;

b) improper fulfilment of official duties;

c) negligent attitude towards official duties;

d) against moral and ethical norms, disgraceful behaviour to discredit an employee or an institution, regardless of whether it happens within or outside the office;

e) performance of activities incompatible with the post;

f) an action inappropriate for a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency discrediting reputation of the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia;

g) breaking of an oath of the fire rescuer/rescuer;

h) violation of the order of labour discipline;

i) violation of the order of wearing the uniform.

2. The procedure for imposing disciplinary liability on Agency employees shall be approved by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia.

3. The following disciplinary penalties shall be applied to a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency for a disciplinary misconduct:

a) a rebuke;

b) a reprimand;

c) a severe reprimand;

d) exclusion from the honorary list of fire rescuers/rescuers of the Agency;

e) demotion to a lower post;

f) dismissal from office.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 52¹¹ – Fire Rescuer and Rescuer Day

Fire Rescuer and Rescuer Day shall be celebrated annually on 12 June.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Chapter X - Social Protection Guarantees, Financing and Logistical Support of the Agency Employees and of the Personnel of Fire and Rescue Divisions of a Municipal Fire Protection Service

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

 

Article 53 - Social protection guarantees of an Agency employee

1. Life and health insurance of an Agency employee shall be obligatory. It shall be implemented with the sources of the State Budget of Georgia. Further, the spouse and minor children of an Agency employee may be insured with the sources of the State Budget of Georgia.

2. A fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency shall be reimbursed fully for damage incurred during performance of his/her official duties with the sources of the State Budget of Georgia as determined by the legislation of Georgia.

3. During the period of being in temporary assignment to the Human Resource Department, the salary (remuneration) of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency for the last post he/she occupied shall be retained for him/her.

4. An immovable property on the balance sheet of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia or the Agency may be transferred to a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency awarded a special state rank for use as a residence by an individual administrative-legal act of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia.

5. The social protection guarantees determined for an appropriate employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia shall apply to the employees on the civilian personnel list of the Agency.

6. A one-off pecuniary and/or material aid, other social protection activities and benefits may be determined for an Agency employee within the funds allocated to the Agency from the State Budget of Georgia by an order of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia.

7. The Government of Georgia may establish other social protection guarantees for fire rescuers/rescuers of the Agency, which are not provided for by this Law.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 54 – Establishment of safe and necessary working conditions for a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency

1. A fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency has the right to have safe and necessary working conditions, as well as to receive organisational and technical facilities required for performing official duties.

2. The Agency shall establish an appropriate working environment for providing a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency with conditions and facilities under paragraph 1 of this article, as well as ensure equal and fair treatment of fire rescuers/rescuers of the Agency with respect to human resources management, remuneration and legal protection issues.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 55 – Salary of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency with a special state rank

A fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency with a special state rank shall be given a salary (remuneration) consisting of a remuneration for the position and a remuneration for the rank. He/she, in addition to the salary, may also be given a supplement to salary (remuneration).

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 55¹ – Supplement for years of service of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency with a special state rank

1. A fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency who is awarded a special state rank shall every month be given a supplement in percentage (for years of service) to remuneration (remunerations for the position and rank) according to calendar years served with a military or special state rank in the following amount:

a) from 1 to 2 years – 5 per cent;

b) from 2 to 5 years – 10 per cent;

c) from 5 to 10 years – 15 per cent;

d) 10 and more years – 20 per cent.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 55² – Injury to health of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency during performance of official duties

1. In case of an injury to health of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency during performance of official duties, according to the degree of injury, on the basis of an individual administrative-legal act of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, he/she shall be granted a one-off pecuniary aid in the following amount:

a) in case of a severe injury to health – 7 000 (seven thousand) GEL;

b) in case of a less severe injury to health – 4 000 (four thousand) GEL;

c) in case of a slight injury to health – 2 000 (two thousand) GEL.

2. In case of an injury to health of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency during performance of official duties, if the injury makes it impossible for him/her to perform official duties properly, the Agency shall ensure the employment of this fire rescuer/rescuer in the Agency for a position equivalent to his/her health status, personal and business qualities, and education.

3. If, in the case provided for in paragraph 2 of this article, the Agency fails to ensure the employment of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency in the Agency due to objective reasons, he/she shall be granted, on a monthly basis, during his/her unemployment period but not more than one year, a compensation in the amount of full remuneration for the last position he/she occupied.

4. The degree of injury to health of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency shall be determined by the legislation of Georgia.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 55³ – Aid and compensation in case of the death of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency

1. In case a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency perishes, or dies from an injury received during performance of official duties, in particular during fire fighting and/or performance of rescue/emergency and rescue works when directly saving a human’s life, health and/or property, his/her family (heir) shall receive, from funds allocated from the State Budget of Georgia to the Agency, on the basis of an act issued by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, a one-off pecuniary aid in the amount of 100 000 (one hundred thousand) GEL and 500 (five hundred) GEL as a compensation for a burial (grave) expenses. Expenses related to the burial of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency shall be paid by the State (Agency).

2. In case a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency perishes during performance of official duties (except as provided for in paragraph 1 of this article), his/her family (heir) shall receive, from funds allocated from the State Budget of Georgia to the Agency, on the basis of an act issued by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, a one-off pecuniary aid in the amount of not more than 15 000 (fifteen thousand) GEL and 500 (five hundred) GEL as a compensation for a burial (grave) expenses. Expenses related to the burial of a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency shall be paid by the State.

3. Within funds allocated to the Agency under the Law of Georgia on the State Budget for a respective year, in case of economies, a family member (heir) of the perished fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency or his/her dependant may receive, on the basis of an order of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, additional pecuniary and/or material aid.

4. If a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency perishes, or dies from a received injury during performance of official duties in cases provided for in paragraph 1 of this article, his/her family members shall be entitled to a state compensation according to the Law of Georgia on the State Compensation and State Academic Stipend.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 55⁴ – Financing and logistical support of the Agency and of fire and rescue divisions of a municipal fire protection service

1. Funding and logistical support of the Agency shall be provided with the funds allocated to the Agency from the State Budget of Georgia, with the revenues received as a result of works performed and services provided under an agreement for performance of works and provision of services in the field of civil security, and with other funds permitted by law.

2. Funding and logistical support of fire and rescue divisions of a municipal fire protection service shall be provided from the budget of a respective municipality, as determined by the legislation of Georgia, within financial resources allocated for exercising powers delegated to the municipality under Article 24(1) of this Law.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 55⁵ – Social protection guarantees of the personnel of fire and rescue divisions of a municipal fire protection service

1. Life and health insurance of the personnel of fire and rescue divisions of a municipal fire protection service is mandatory. Insurance shall be provided with funding on the cost estimate designated for supporting fire and rescue divisions of a municipal fire protection service.

2. The pension provision of the personnel of fire and rescue divisions of a municipal fire protection service according to the positions occupied shall be regulated by the legislation of Georgia.

3. Municipality bodies may establish other social protection guarantees for the personnel of fire and rescue divisions of a municipal fire protection service, which are not provided for in paragraph 1 of this article.

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Chapter XI - Transitional and Final Provisions

 

Article 56 - Transitional provisions

1. The Emergency Management Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, the emergency management, fire and/or rescue services/divisions (irrespective of their statuses and names), under subordination of the government of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, of the Governors, and of local self-government bodies shall be liquidated on 10 January 2015.

2. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, the Governors, and the local self-governing bodies shall, within ten days after this Law enters into force, establish liquidation commissions (with participation of representatives of the Government of Georgia) for the liquidation of emergency management, fire and/or rescue services/divisions (irrespective of their statuses and names) under their subordination, and shall implement the respective measures related to the liquidation.

3. Before 10 January 2015:

a) the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia shall issue the relevant legal acts and implement the necessary organisational measures related to the establishment of the Agency;

b) the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, the Governors, and the local self-governing bodies shall, according to the legislation of Georgia, transfer immovable and movable property (including buildings and structures, material and technical base, etc.) recorded as a result of or during the liquidation of emergency management, fire and/or rescue services/divisions (irrespective of their statuses and names) under their subordination, and the official documentation to the Agency;

c) the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, the Governors, and the local self-government bodies shall carry out measures necessary for the liquidation of emergency management, fire and/or rescue services/divisions (irrespective of their statuses and names) under their subordination by the date defined under paragraph 1 of this article.

4. The Emergency Management Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, emergency management, fire and/or rescue services/divisions (irrespective of their statuses and names) under the subordination of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, of the Governors, and of local self-government bodies shall exercise the rights granted to them under the legislation of Georgia, and fulfil their obligations until 10 January 2015. The liquidation commissions shall, before 30 January 2015 and after completion of the measures under paragraph 3(b) of this article, carry out measures related to the transfer of the remaining property (if any) to the Agency, shall draw up a liquidation report and submit one copy of the report to the Agency, after which the activities of the liquidation commissions shall be terminated.

5. The relevant agencies of the Autonomous Republics, of the executive authority of Georgia, and the local self-governing bodies/officials shall make changes to relevant legal acts and adopt/issue new legal acts to ring them in compliance with this Law.

6. After the liquidation of emergency management, fire and/or rescue services/divisions (irrespective of their statuses and names) under the subordination of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, of the Governors, and of local self-government bodies, the Agency shall be considered a legal successor to the above services/divisions, save the exception provided in paragraph 7 of this article.

7. The Government of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, the State Representatives - the Governors, and the local self-governing bodies respectively shall be considered the legal successors to the financial liabilities (labour remuneration, other goods and services, etc.) incurred by the emergency management, fire and/or rescue services/units (irrespective of their statuses and names) under the subordination of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, of Governors, and of local self-government bodies before the entry into force of this Law.

8. The state and local self-government bodies shall, within six months after the entry of this Law into force, ensure compliance of appropriate normative acts with this Law.

9. The Government of Georgia shall, before 31 December 2016, adopt the following ordinances on:

a) approval of the regulations for the conduct of the state fire and public safety supervision in Georgia;

b) approval of the technical regulations on fire safety rules and conditions;

c) approval of the technical regulations on procedures and conditions for the conduct of fire fighting activities by private fire fighting divisions;

d) the Unified Emergency Management System;

e) approval of the procedures and conditions for organising evacuation of the population, and the critical characteristics for arranging shelters;

f) organisation of the training for the population in public safety;

g) approval of the emergency prevention and response requirements for facilities falling under public safety category;

h) approval of the form of a safety passport for potentially hazardous facilities;

i) approval of the form of a safety passport of municipalities;

j) approval of the procedure for forming and using material resources to respond to natural and man-made emergencies;

k) approval of the Statute of the Emergency Response Forces;

l) approval of the regulations on the procedures for classifying emergencies;

m) approval of the instruction on the procedure for submitting a safety declaration of a potentially hazardous facility;

n) approval of the procedure for the establishment of a fire and rescue division of a municipal fire fighting system, its goals, objectives, and rules of operation;

o) approval of the National Public Safety Plan;

p) development of the procedures for preparing the Emergency Management Plan;

q) development of the procedures for preparing the Emergency Risk Management Plan.

10. The Government of Georgia shall, before 31 December 2016, adopt the following ordinances on:

a) approval of the instructions on inspecting units of the Unified Emergency Management System;

b) approval of the procedures for developing procedures for the obligatory performance of operations during emergencies and military operations and their compensation procedures;

c) approval of the procedures for developing emergency prevention measures;

d) approval of the organisational measures for preventing the spillage of oil and oil products in the territory of Georgia and for liquidating its consequences;

e) approval of the procedures for developing measures for supporting a host nation in the field of public safety;

f) division of the territory and cities of Georgia into groups and organisations into categories in the field of public safety;

g) approval of the regulations on systems of notification of the population about emergencies in the field of public safety;

h) arrangement of the local emergency notification system in locations of potentially hazardous facilities;

i) determination of the types and fees for operations performed and services rendered in the field of public safety by the Legal Entity under Public Law - the Emergency Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia - acting under the governance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia;

j) approval of the procedures for performing operations and rendering services in the field of fire safety by a contract-based division of the state fire fighting system;

k) approval of the procedures for involving the fire and rescue divisions and other Emergency Response Forces in suppression of emergency effects caused by a forest fire;

l) approval of the list of the especially significant, potentially hazardous, national treasures, and cultural heritage facilities, where establishment of a fire fighting system division is necessary.

m) approval of the list of facilities falling under public safety;

n) approval of the technical regulations on public safety requirements.

11. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia shall ensure the issuance of the following normative acts until 31 December 2016:

a) on the approval of the methodological recommendations for analysing potential threats and emergency risks;

b) on the development and approval of the instructions for the assessment of emergency conditions;

c) on the approval of the procedures for collecting, processing, and disseminating information on emergencies;

d) on the approval of the list of types of rescue operations;

e) on the approval of the procedures for forming freelance forces in the field of public safety;

f) on the approval of the training programme for personnel of the fire and rescue divisions of the Legal Entity under Public Law - the Emergency Management Agency, acting under the governance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia;

g) on the approval of the statute of the Gas and Smoke Protection Service within the fire and rescue divisions of the Legal Entity under Public Law - the Emergency Management Agency, acting under the governance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia;

h) on the approval of the procedures for protecting human lives and ensuring human safety on water;

i) on the approval of the instructions for conducting public safety exercises;

j) on the approval of the procedures for organising services in fire and rescue divisions;

k) on the approval of the procedures for carrying out fire fighting and emergency rescue operations by fire and rescue divisions;

l) on the approval of the regulations on organising activities of contract-based divisions of the state fire agency;

m) on the approval of the requirements for the organisation of teaching fire safety rules to staff members of facilities falling under state fire supervision, of entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal persons;

n) on the approval of the procedures for involving the forces and the material resources of fire and rescue divisions in emergency response measures during fires, accidents, catastrophes, natural disasters, and emergencies;

o) on the approval of the labour safety rules for the fire and rescue divisions of the Legal Entity under Public Law - the Emergency Management Agency, acting under the governance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia;

p) on the approval of the instructions for monitoring and assessing activities of the fire and rescue divisions of the Legal Entity under Public Law - the Emergency Management Agency, acting under the governance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia;

q) on the approval of the established standards for fire drills and special tactical rescue training of personnel of the fire and rescue divisions of the Legal Entity under Public Law - the Emergency Management Agency, acting under the governance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia;

r) on the approval of the methodical recommendations for the preparation of fire fighting plans and notes;

s) on the approval of the procedures for making records of fires and their consequences;

t) on the approval of the instructions on the exploitation of the fire and emergency rescue equipment;

u) on the approval of the instructions for the exploration of fire by the fire and rescue divisions of the Legal Entity under Public Law - the Emergency Management Agency, acting under the governance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia;

v) on the approval of the procedures for making records of emergencies and their effects;

w) on the Approval of the Procedure for Conducting a Special Competition for a Fire Rescuer/Rescuer at the Legal Entity under Public Law Operating under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia – the Emergency Management Agency;

x) on the Approval of the Text of the Oath of Fire Rescuer/Rescuer;

y) on the Approval of the Procedure for Enrolling on the Honorary List of Fire Rescuers/Rescuers;

z) on the Approval of the Procedure for Studying a Special Vocational Education Programme, a Special Retraining and/or a Skill Development Course/Programme;

z¹) on the Approval of the Procedure for Being Employed by and Serving at the Legal Entity under Public Law Operating under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia – the Emergency Management Agency;

z²) on the Approval of the Procedure for Motivating Employees of the Legal Entity under Public Law Operating under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia – the Emergency Management Agency, and for Imposing Disciplinary Liability on them.

12. Compliance with emergency prevention and response requirements, provided in this Law at the facilities falling under public safety, shall be supervised according to the Ordinance of the Government of Georgia on Approving the Emergency Prevention and Response Requirements for Facilities Falling under the Public Safety Category.

13. Determination of compliance in the field of fire safety, defined in this Law, shall be implemented as from 1 January 2016.

14. Validity of Articles 23 and 24 of this Law shall be suspended till 10 January 2015.

15. An employee of the Agency, who is employed at the Agency and is awarded a special police state rank as of 1 September 2016, shall retain the special state rank after 1 September 2016 and it shall become equal to a special state rank of civil security during the period of working at the Agency regardless of his/her position. Social protection guarantees established by this Law for a fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency shall apply to an employee of the Agency under this paragraph.

16. A fire rescuer/rescuer of the Agency, who had not been awarded a special state rank as of 1 September 2016, except for a person employed at the Agency under a labour agreement, and a contract division employee, shall be awarded an appropriate special state rank from 1 September 2016, as determined by the legislation of Georgia.

17. An employee of the Agency, who is employed at the Agency as of 1 September 2016 and will continue serving as a member of personnel of fire rescuers/rescuers of the Agency from 1 September 2016, shall be awarded a special state rank without passing a special competition provided for in Article 52²(2) of this Law, as determined by the legislation of Georgia.

Law of Georgia No 2586 of 30 July 2014 – website, 11.8.2014

Law of Georgia No 4644 of 16 December 2015 – website, 25.12.2015

Law of Georgia No 5595 of 24 June 2016 – website, 13.7.2016

 

Article 57 - Final provisions

1. Upon entry into force of this Law, the following shall be considered void:

a) the Law of Georgia of 11 November 2005 on Fire Safety (Legislative Herald of Georgia, No 49, 30.11.2005, Art. 327);

b) the Law of Georgia of 8 June 2007 on the Protection of the Population and the Territory from Natural and Man-Made Emergencies (Legislative Herald of Georgia, No 22, 19.6.2007, Art. 203).

2. The subordinate normative acts and/or their parts, adopted/issued under the Law of Georgia on Fire Safety and the Law of Georgia on Protection of the Population and the Territory from Natural and Man-Made Emergencies, also the normative acts applicable in the field of protection of the population and the territory from emergencies and in the field of fire safety and contravening this Law, shall become void upon the entry into force of the relevant normative acts provided in Article 56 of this Law.

3. This Law shall enter into force upon promulgation.

 

 

President of Georgia                                                                                                                  Giorgi Margvelashvili

Kutaisi

29 May 2014

No 2467-IIს