With 84 votes (one against), the Parliament adopted the legislative project on the creation of a new public law legal entity - the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The amendments were voted on in the first reading.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau is to established with the following functions and purposes: develops proposals regarding the determination of the general policy of the fight against corruption and submits them to the Parliament; develops a draft of the national anti-corruption strategy and the action plan for the implementation of the national anti-corruption strategy and submits it to the Government for approval; coordinates the activities of appropriate bodies, organizations and officials in order to implement the document defining the general policy of the fight against corruption, the national anti-corruption strategy and the action plan for the implementation of the national anti-corruption strategy; supervises the implementation of the document defining the general anti-corruption policy, the national anti-corruption strategy and the action plan for the implementation of the national anti-corruption strategy, and develops appropriate proposals and issues appropriate recommendations for their implementation; studies and analyzes the existing international standards and experience in the field of combating corruption, the experience of Georgia and other countries in this field, the approaches, opinions and conclusions of their law and appropriate international organizations; contributes to the increase of public awareness in the fight against corruption, including in terms of the implementation of appropriate educational measures;
The main part of the legislative changes is included in the Law On Conflict of Interest and Corruption in Public Institutions, which will be renamed as Fighting Against Corruption Law.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau will be accountable to the Parliament and the Anti-Corruption Council. The head of the Bureau will submit the annual report to the Parliament, and the periodic reports to the inter-departmental Anti-Corruption Council.
As for the procedure for electing the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the competition commission will select candidates based on an open competition and submit them to the PM for appointment to the position.
In turn, the Prime Minister will select the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau from the nominated candidates and appoint him/her to the position for a period of 6 years.
