At its recent session, the Sector Economy and Economic Policy Committee discussed, in the first reading, two draft laws: on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Georgia and on Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences of Georgia. The proposed amendments aim to tighten liability for the illegal use of timber resources.

According to the First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Nino Tandilashvili, the need to strengthen liability arises from the still high number of violations detected by the Ministry in connection with the unlawful use of timber.

"This situation calls for appropriate response measures by the state. Through this draft law, our goal is to minimise cases of illegal use of timber—specifically, those instances that fall outside the legal framework. The main focus is on the illegal production of industrial timber, as such cases are mostly of a purely commercial nature. Therefore, we must maximise prevention efforts to significantly reduce these violations. For this reason, it was decided to tighten the liability for the illegal use of timber", - said Nino Tandilashvili.

Among other matters, the amendments affect the article on violations of sawmill registration requirements. Under the proposed law, installing sawmill or thermal processing equipment without proper registration will result in stricter criminal penalties. Instead of imprisonment for up to one year, the new provision foresees a penalty of one to three years of imprisonment. For repeated offences, the penalty increases from one to two years to three to five years.

The draft also introduces a new offence - placing unmarked round timber (logs) on sawmill premises. The change aims to impose stricter penalties for the presence of unmarked timber at sawmills.

Tandilashvili emphasised that the legislative proposal will not limit the local population„s access to firewood or industrial timber for personal use. Each year, residents in rural areas receive a designated amount of firewood - 7 cubic metres in lowlands and 15 cubic metres in mountainous regions. The current regulations will continue to apply for citizens to legally access and use these resources.

In addition to these legislative proposals, Nino Tandilashvili presented several other draft laws for first reading: On Amendments to the Law of Georgia on Environmental Protection, On Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences of Georgia, and related changes to the same Code.

She noted that these legislative initiatives are motivated by Georgia„s obligations under the EU Association Agreement and its membership in the Energy Community.

Upon adoption, the draft law will establish a legal basis for creating and regulating a national system for monitoring, reporting, and verifying greenhouse gas emissions. It will also ensure compliance with the requirements stemming from the Energy Community Treaty.

The proposed authorisation, monitoring, reporting, and verification rules related to greenhouse gas emissions will apply to activities defined by a resolution of the Government of Georgia.