On July 24, the Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the cassation appeal of Tamar Kometiani, who had been wrongfully terminated from her position at the Zugdidi Municipality Youth Palace, and mandated the Youth Palace to provide 17,320 GEL in compensation. The case was litigated by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) with USAID Rule of Law Program support.  

Ms. Kometiani had been an employee at the Youth Palace since 2020. However, during the pre-local election period in October 2021, the director of the Youth Palace imposed disciplinary measures on her for sharing a post on Facebook in support of one of the opposition parties. The Youth Palace then extended the employment contracts for all other employees, but Ms. Kometiani's contract was not.

ISFED represented Ms. Kometiani’s rights in all court instances. Zugdidi District Court did not satisfy any of ISFED’s requests – establishment of discrimination, annulment of dismissal order, reinstatement, and lost earnings.

In December 2022, the Civil Chamber of the Kutaisi Court of Appeals (Judges Indira Mashaneishvili, Irma Peranidze, and Tamar Svanadze) annulled the dismissal of Ms. Kometiani’s claim and the Youth Palace was ordered to pay 10,000 GEL as compensation. The Court of Appeals did not discuss the issue of lost earnings, which was appealed by ISFED to the Supreme Court. According to the Labor Code, an employee is to be fully remunerated for idle time caused by the fault of an employer.

The Supreme Court (Judges Ekaterine Gasitashvili, Zurab Dzlierishvili, and Nino Bakakuri) satisfied ISFED’s appeal and ordered the Youth Palace to pay compensation of 1,100 GEL monthly from her dismissal until the execution of the decision, 17,320 GEL in total.

ISFED continues protecting the rights of dismissed employees and the freedom of political expression by those in the public service.