On September 27, 2017, the first assessment of Pension Reform was conducted, within “ReforMeter”. Based on the Government Survey, 38.8% of the reform is already implemented. At this stage, the reform concept is elaborated and approved by the Government. In October, the draft law will be publicly available. The pension fund functions and obligations are formulated. The regulatory body is defined. Pension system operating rules are designed.

Driving back home after a two-week family vacation in Turkey, a horrific surprise awaited us at the border-crossing in Vale (near Akhaltsikhe). We arrived just before midnight on Saturday, August 26, 2017. What we knew to be a very efficient procedure lasted much longer than the expected 2-3 minutes.

Georgia has a number of laws and regulations governing water resources, dating back to the late nineties and partially amended after 2003. Changes, however, have not always followed a clear and coherent strategy. As a result, in the words of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the current legislation is an “unworkable and fragmented system”.

ISET-PI is working on a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) on the Draft Law of Georgia on Biodiversity. This project will emphasize the consideration of Sustainable Development Goals in the RIA approach.

On April 21, the Parliament of Georgia approved changes to the Road Traffic law introducing the so-called demerit points system (DPS) in Georgia. Under the DPS every driver will receive a reserve of 100 points. For each traffic violation, in addition to the monetary penalty, the points will be deducted from a 100 points “allowance”.