Under article 46 of the Constitution, during a state of emergency or martial law the President is authorized to restrict various constitutional rights and freedoms in the country or in any part thereof, and must submit his decision to do so for Parliament to ratify within 48 hours.

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Pursuant to article 46, the following rights and freedoms may be restricted in the event of a state of emergency or martial law:

• Inviolability of freedom of the person (art. 18);
• Inviolability of private life (art. 20);
• Inviolability of property (art. 21);
• Freedom of movement (art. 22);
• Freedom of information (arts. 24 and 41);
• Freedom of peaceful assembly (art. 25);
• Freedom of labour (art. 30);
• Right to strike (art. 33).

In addition, article 46, paragraph 2, indirectly restricts the right to free elections, stating that elections of any kind may be held only after the state of emergency or martial law has been lifted. It should also be noted that declaration of a state of emergency or martial law entails the suspension of any revision of the Constitution until the said state is lifted (Constitution, art. 103).

The Constitution does not reserve the prerogative of introducing a state of emergency or martial law to any one power, but stipulates that a decision of the President - the head of State and the executive power - must be approved by the highest legislative body in the country. In essence, this approach precludes the possibility of any unfounded or arbitrary decisions being taken.

Under article 4 of the Covenant, no restriction of the right to life (art. 6), the right to freedom from torture (art. 7), freedom from slavery and servitude (art. 8, paras. 1 and 2), freedom from imprisonment for inability to fulfil contractual obligations (art. 11), freedom from retroactive application of laws (art. 15), the right to recognition as a person before the law (art. 16) and the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art. 18) is permissible under a state of emergency. A comparison of the restrictive provisions of the Constitution and the requirements of the Covenant reveals no contradiction between the two. The restriction of the freedom of labour provided for in the Constitution is consistent with article 8, paragraph 3 (c) (iii), of the Covenant.

The Constitution does not require the State to inform any international organization or other State of the imposition or lifting of a state of emergency. This procedure is provided for in the relevant Georgian legislation, which will be discussed later.

Questions relating to the declaration and implementation of a state of emergency or martial law are also governed by several articles of the Constitution. These include article 61, which states that Parliament shall meet by its own right within 48 hours of the declaration of a state of emergency or martial law by the President. Decisions of Parliament relating to states of emergency and martial law and the restriction of constitutional rights and freedoms shall be taken by a majority of votes of the plenary Parliament (art. 62). Article 73, subparagraph (h), of the Constitution, which is extremely important, sets out the requisite conditions for imposing a state of emergency: war or civil unrest, infringement of the country's territorial integrity, a military revolution or armed uprising, environmental disasters or epidemics, or other events in which the State authorities are unable to exercise their constitutional powers normally. This subparagraph states that during a state of emergency the President shall issue decrees having the force of law which shall remain in force throughout the state of emergency. Such decrees shall also be submitted to Parliament, and emergency powers shall be extended only to that territory in which the state of emergency has been declared. Martial law shall be declared by the President in the event of an armed attack against Georgia (art. 73, subparagraph (g)).

Questions relating to emergencies are governed by the State of Emergency Act and the Martial Law Act, adopted in October 1997. The wording of both laws and even their structure (down to the numbering of the articles) are virtually identical, making it possible to review both at the same time and while discerning their differences.

Both laws reiterate the provisions of the Constitution relating to the procedure for imposing a state of emergency or martial law and reproduce the list of rights and freedoms that may be restricted. Both stipulate that presidential decrees restricting rights must be ratified by Parliament (art. 2).

According to article 3 of both laws, presidential decrees imposing a state of emergency or martial law must set out the reasons for such a decision, the proposed duration and, in the case of a state of emergency, the extent of the territory in which it is to be applied. Martial law, unlike a state of emergency, is declared throughout the entire country (Martial Law Act, art. 2, para. 1). Extension of the duration or the early lifting of a state of emergency or martial law requires the approval of Parliament. As soon as a state of emergency or martial law is lifted all decrees issued by the President during that period cease to be in force.

During a state of emergency or martial law, the highest executive authorities have the power to carry out, in accordance with legislative requirements, a series of measures which may restrict human rights and freedoms, namely:

• Introduction, in places where states of emergency or martial law are in force, of special regimes for the entry and exit of citizens and restriction of the freedom of movement (art. 4, subparagraphs (c) and (d));
• Banning of any assemblies, rallies, marches, demonstrations or other mass events throughout the territory where the state of emergency is in force, or during the imposition of martial law (art. 4, subparagraphs (f));
• Monitoring, in accordance with the law, of the media (art. 4, subparagraphs (m));
• Temporary ban on the release from work of workers and employees of State enterprises, establishments and organizations of strategic or vital significance who so request, and the recruitment of able-bodied citizens to work in enterprises, organizations and establishments (art. 4, subparagraphs (g) and (j));
• Ban on strikes (art. 4, subparagraphs (i));
• In order to avert and eliminate the consequences of a state of emergency or martial law, the use, with appropriate compensation, of property and material resources belonging to individuals and legal entities (art. 4, subparagraphs (h));
• Checking of documents in places where citizens gather and, when appropriate, the conduct of body searches (art. 4, subparagraphs (r));
• Detention of curfew violators until the curfew is ended or, in the absence of personal identification papers, until identity is established, but no longer than 72 hours (art. 7).

The State of Emergency Act and the Martial Law Act stipulate that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall immediately inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations when a state of emergency or martial law is declared or lifted. Georgia has also assumed the obligations vis-à-vis the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe incumbent on it as a full member of the Council and a party to the European Convention on Human Rights.

In the context of this article of the Covenant, it should be noted out that both of the acts mentioned above stipulate that Parliament's rejection of a decision by the President concerning the imposition of a state of emergency or martial law shall result in the immediate lifting of the state of emergency or martial law (art. 2, para. 2).

No instances in which a state of emergency or martial law was declared have occurred since the time Georgia's initial report was submitted.

Second periodic report submitted by Georgia pursuant to article 40 of the International Covenant on civil and political rights CCPR/C/GEO/2000/2 26 February 2001

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