Resolution of the Government of Georgia

N 206              November 16 2005                 Tbilisi

on the Approval of the Regulations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

In compliance with the first paragraph of Article 17 of the Law of Georgia on the Structure, Powers and Rule of Activity of the Government of Georgia:

1.      To approve the attached Regulations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia;

2.      To repeal Resolution N 53 of June 25, 2004 of the Government of Georgia on the Approval of the Regulations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.

3.      To enforce the Resolution from November 29, 2005

Prime Minister                                 Zurab Noghaideli

Approved

by Resolution N 206 of November 16, 2005

of the Government of Georgia

Regulations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

Chapter I

General Provisions

Article 1. General Provisions

1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia (hereinafter the Ministry) is a governmental body carrying out state management and coordination of Georgia’s foreign relations with foreign states and international organizations.
2. The Ministry conducts its activity in conformity with the Constitution of Georgia, universally recognized norms and principles of international law, international agreements, Georgian legislation and the present Regulations.
3. The Ministry coordinates relations of governmental bodies of Georgia with foreign countries and international organizations.
4. The Ministry is financed from the state budget.
5. The Ministry has the seal with its name and the State Symbol engraved on it, as well as appropriate stamps and seals, an independent balance sheet and accounts at the Georgian Exchequer and foreign banking institutions, emblem and letterhead blank sheet with the State Symbol engraved on it.
6. Legal address of the Ministry: 4, Chitadze str., Tbilisi.
7. The Ministry applies the principle of one-man management.

Article 2. Major Functions of the Ministry

Major functions of the Ministry are as follows:

a)   Implementing concrete directions of foreign political and economic policy determined by the Parliament of Georgia and pursued by the President of Georgia, in compliance with the Georgian legislation and international commitments;

b)  Creating favourable foreign environment to insure sustainable development of Georgia;

c)  Insuring coordinated activity of the executive authorities while conducting international relations, with a view to carrying out joint foreign political and economic policy;

d)  Carrying out targeted measures with a view to promoting Georgia's consistent and full integration with the European Union and Euro-Atlantic structures;

e)  Carrying out concrete measures to insure, while conducting international relations, protection of Georgia's sovereignty, territorial integrity, security and national interests;

f)  Promoting inter-parliamentary, interdepartmental and interregional relations;

g)  Drafting proposals on Georgia's foreign policy strategy and priorities;

h)  Carrying out respective measures for the attraction of foreign investments, technical and humanitarian aid from foreign countries and international organizations;  

i)  Promoting Georgian culture, spiritual and material legacy, scientific-technical and intellectual potential and protection of Georgian cultural and historical heritage, with a view to building up Georgia's image abroad;

j)  Analyzing, determining the expediency of and coordinating proposals on foreign relations of the ministries, departments and local governing and self-governing bodies of Georgia;   

k) Determining the expediency of concluding international treaties and agreements, coordinating the process of their elaboration and acting as a depository of the signed documents with due regard for proposals of the respective authorities.

l) Insuring protection of the interests of Georgia as well as rights and interests of Georgian citizens and legal entities abroad.

m) Conducting Georgia's diplomatic and consular relations with foreign countries, as well as relations with international organizations.

Article 3. Objectives of the Ministry

Objectives of the Ministry are as follows:

a)     Elaborating through the analysis of bilateral, multilateral relations and the international situation and duly submitting to the President and the Government of Georgia materials, proposals and recommendations on the relations of Georgia with foreign states and international organizations;   

b)     Conducting negotiations with state bodies, foreign-political authorities, diplomatic missions and consular offices, on behalf of the State and within the sphere of its own competence;

c)      Participating in the elaboration of respective policy and concrete measures in order to insure security and defence of Georgia;

d)     Submitting to the President and the Government of Georgia proposals on the improvement of Georgia's foreign policy and the Diplomatic Corps and elaborating drafts of respective legal and legislative acts;

e)     Elaborating drafts of Georgia's international agreements and duly submitting to the President of Georgia proposals on the conclusion, implementation, suspension and termination of agreements, conducting negotiations with foreign states and international organizations;

f)      Exercising control over the implementation of international agreements of Georgia;

g)     Insuring registration of international agreements of Georgia, authentication of the translations of international agreements of Georgia and maintenance of archival materials of Georgia's foreign policy (their authenticated copies, official copies of translations).

h)     Coordinating perfection of the contractual basis, carrying out monitoring over the implementation of commitments undertaken by Georgia within the international organizations, conducting and/or participating in bilateral and multilateral negotiations, conferences and other arrangements, with due regard for Georgia's membership and participation in international organizations;

i)      Carrying out respective measures in order to make due contribution to strengthening  international peace, global and regional security;

j)      Coordinating participation of Georgia, as a member of the international community in the work of international and regional organizations, conferences, forums as well as in the solution of international problems;

k)    Participating in the elaboration of concrete measures for the expansion of Georgia's trade-economic, financial, military and military-political, scientific-technical, cultural and other relations with foreign states and international organizations;

l)      Promoting elaboration and implementation of common foreign policy in the fields of culture, education, science, protection of cultural and historical heritage, public health, tourism, sports and youth affairs;

m)    Promoting within the sphere of its own competence dissemination of information abroad on Georgia's foreign and internal policy, social-economic, cultural and spiritual life;

n)     Insuring observance of diplomatic protocol during high and highest-level interstate events; effecting control over the exercise of diplomatic and consular privileges and immunities;

o)     Insuring implementation of a single personnel policy within the Ministry's central apparatus, its divisions abroad and territorial entities; organizing training and advanced training of diplomatic staff;

p)     Insuring operation of Georgian consular offices on the territory of Georgia and abroad;

q)     Providing proper conditions for the functioning of diplomatic missions, consular offices and representations of international organizations of foreign countries in Georgia;

r)      Providing proper conditions for the functioning of the Ministry's central apparatus and its offices abroad.

Chapter II

Leadership of the Ministry

Article 4. Leadership of the Ministry

1.        The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs appointed by the Prime Minister by consent of the President of Georgia.

2.        The Minister has First Deputy Minister and three Deputy Ministers appointed to and dismissed from the position by the Prime Minister, upon presentation of the Minister, by consent of the President of Georgia.

3.        Powers of the First Deputy Minister and Deputy Ministers are determined by the Minister's order.

4.        One of Deputy Ministers acts as a parliamentary secretary by the Minister's instruction.

5.        During the absence of the Minister, the First Deputy Minister heads the Ministry.

Article 5. Rights and Obligations of the Minister

1.        The Minister:  

a)        Heads the Ministry, conducts its activity and makes decisions on the issues within the sphere of the Ministry's competence;

b)       Bears responsibility for observance of the Constitution and legislation of Georgia, presidential decrees and edicts and statutory acts issued by the Government and Prime Minister of Georgia;

c)        Exercises control over fulfillment of their respective obligations by structural entities of the Ministry both within and beyond the Georgian borders, legal entities of public law under the Ministry and territorial entities as well as over activity of members of the Diplomatic Corps and civil servants;

d)        Approves regulations and personnel lists of the Ministry's central apparatus, its divisions, territorial entities and legal entities of public law under the Ministry, approves regulations of the Ministry's divisions abroad (diplomatic mission and consular office);

e)         Presents to the Prime Minister proposals on annual budget income and expenses of the Ministry and where necessary, on allocation of additional funds from the budget, as well as on decisions for purposeful utilization of budgetary funds;

f)         Deleted;

g)        Determines powers of diplomats and other civil servants of the Ministry;

h)        Makes decisions on initiating negotiations for signing international inter-ministerial  agreements, in coordination with the respective ministry;

i)         Approves ratification instruments signed by the President of Georgia;

j)         Revokes or/and nullifies individual statutory acts issued by the First Deputy Minister, Deputy Ministers, Heads of the Ministry's divisions abroad, its territorial entities and legal entities of public law under the Ministry, which are in contradiction with the Constitution of Georgia, other laws, presidential decrees, edicts, governmental resolutions and minister's orders;

k)        Appoints to and dismisses from their position diplomats and other civil servants of the Ministry's central apparatus and territorial entities, supplementary and extra staff members, heads of legal entities of public law included in the Ministry, officials of the Ministry's divisions abroad, except for ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary;

l)         Presents to the President of Georgia proposals on appointment and dismissal of ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary and heads of Georgia's permanent representations to international organizations and diplomatic missions;

m)       Assigns ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary and heads of Georgia's permanent representations to and recalls them from international organizations and diplomatic missions, by the rule of rotation;

n)        Assigns diplomats to and recalls them from divisions of the Ministry abroad, by the rule of rotation.

o)        Assigns on a contractual basis administrational and technical staff members to, and recalls them from divisions of the Ministry abroad;

p)        Determines and approves, in accordance with the state budget, personnel lists and expense budget of the Ministry's central apparatus, its divisions abroad and territorial entities, as well as legal entities of public law under the Ministry and issues instructions, where necessary, on the use of budgetary funds;

q)        Is authorized to represent Georgia during bilateral and multilateral talks and sign international agreements on behalf of Georgia;

r)         On the basis of presidential decree of Georgia, executes the authority of conducting negotiations and signing international agreements on behalf of Georgia;

s)         Represents the Ministry and grants officials of the Ministry respective authority to speak on behalf of the Ministry at courts;

t)         Determines responsibilities of first deputy minister, deputy ministers and heads of the Ministry's structural entities in various fields of activity;

u)         Grants diplomatic ranks and titles, intercedes with the President of Georgia for granting the ranks of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary;

v)          Nominates staff members of the Ministry for state awards of Georgia;

w)         Is authorized to set up an examination-qualification commission;

x)          Takes decision on promotion of the Ministry's staff members and disciplinary sanctions;

y)          Approves the Rules of the Ministry;

z)          Resolves disputes arising between the Ministry's structural entities, its divisions abroad, territorial entities and subordinate organizations;

aa)         Files reports on the Ministry's activity with the Government of Georgia;

bb)         Bears liability for purposeful use of the Ministry's property and finances;

cc)          Takes part in the meetings of the National Security Council and the Government;

dd)          Signs consular patent and exequatur;

ee)           Carries out other responsibilities under the rule established by the Georgian legislation; carries out various tasks of the President of Georgia and the Prime Minister.

2.        The Minister is authorized to set up commissions and councils, define their rights and obligations and the rule of their activity.

Chapter III

System and Structure of the Ministry and Major Objectives of Structural Entities

Article 6. System of the Ministry

System of the Ministry includes:

a)     Structural entities of the Ministry, which make up the central apparatus of the Ministry;

b)    Divisions of the Ministry abroad (diplomatic mission, consular office);

c)     Deleted;

d)     Legal entities of public law over which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs exercises state control.

Article 7. Structural Entities of the Ministry

1.        Structural entities of the Ministry are:

a)  Political Department aims at participating in the elaboration of foreign-political strategy in order to insure state security;  conducting systematic analysis of international events; assessment of existing and potential threats, risks and chellenges with a view to defining strategic trends of foreign policy and drawing up recommendations; elaboration of strategic documents of foreign policy; working out  time-related action plans of structural entities of the Ministry; protection of Georgia's national interests in international organizations; consolidation of the opinion of the international community to hep Georgia carry out more effective and targeted measures on the international arena and uphold Georgia's position in international organizations; elaboration of respective conclusions and recommendations.    

b) Department of Security Policy and Euro-Atlantic Integration aims at promoting and coordinating Georgia's integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures; analyzing new threats and challenges and elaborating recommendations on them; cooperating with foreign states in the field of security; insuring within its competence fulfillment of Georgia's international commitments in the field of disarmament and arms control and cooperation with international organizations;

c) Department of European Integration aims at promoting and coordinating Georgia's consistent and full integration with the European Union and insuring cooperation with structural entities of the Ministry, various ministries and organizations of Georgia; developing a political dialogue between Georgia and the European Union; promoting realization of the Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between Georgia and the European Union and bringing Georgian legislation in line with the respective European laws and pursuing close cooperation  within the common foreign and security policy of the European Union.

d) Department of European Affairs aims at developing partnerly, friendly and mutually beneficial relations between Georgia and European countries, promoting political, economic, military-political and cultural-humanitarian cooperation with European countries; drawing up respective proposals and recommendations on the basis of ongoing processes in European countries and through the study of foreign policy directions;

e) Department of Global Affairs aims at developing strategic partnership with the United States of America as well as establishing and promoting friendly and mutually beneficial relations and facilitating political, economic, military-political and cultural-humanitarian cooperation with Canada, Mexico, Central and Latin America, Middle east, Central Asia, Far East, Asia, Africa, Australia and Oceania, Russia; drawing up respective proposals and recommendations on the basis of ongoing processes and through the study of foreign policy directions;

f) Department of International Organizations aims at upholding Georgia's state interests within the international organizations; consolidating the international community's opinion and drawing up appropriate resolutions and recommendations for the implementation of more comprehemsive and targeted actions by Georgia on the international arena, with a view to facilitating resolution of the exisiting conflicts in Georgia and achieving support for Georgia's position within the international organizations;

g) Department of International Economic, cultural and Humanitarian Relations aims at promoting multilateral and regional foreign-economic relations and drawing up proposals and recommendations on the issues of cooperation with foreign states and international organizations; using diplomatic means for the attraction of foreign investments and technical assistance and realization of international and regional investment projects; taking care of Georgia's cultural heritage abroad and deepening relations with Georgian diasporas; promoting search, registration, restoration and protection of Georgia's cultural and historical monuments; coordinating relations and cooperation with compatriots abroad, Georgian communities as well as associations of friendship with Georgia in foreign countries

h) International Law Department aims at bringing Georgia's foreign relations in line with international legal norms, providing legal expertise of Georgia's bilateral and multilateral international agreements and other international legal acts; coordinating conclusion of international agreements by various ministries of Georgia; insuring general surveillance over the implementation of all international agreements of Georgia, their analysis, monitoring, control, registration, systematization and preservation of originals;

i)  Press and Information Departmentaims at updating public and the mass media on policy and priorities of the Ministry, conducting briefings and running the website of the Ministry, preparing and disseminating statements and other documents of the Ministry, insuring exchange of information with Georgia's diplomatic missions abroad, carrying out a daily monitoring over the world's leading mass media and preparing on their basis informational-analytical materials;

j) Department of Diplomatic Protocol aims at providing the Ministry with protocol service, preparing and holding high-level meetings of state and governmental delegations, organizing official and working visits of foreign ministers, their deputies, ambassadors, heads and representatives of international organizations to Georgia and visits of high-level Georgian delegations, foreign minister, and his/her deputies abroad; exercising control over protection of immunities and privileges of employees of foreign diplomatic missions, consular offices and international organizations in Georgia; providing the diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia with protocol service;

m) Consular Department aims at conducting Georgia's consular relations with foreign states and coordinating activity of Georgia's consular offices; improving and expanding Georgia's consular relations; protecting rights and legal interests of Georgian citizens and legal entities abroad; studying Georgia's visa relations with foreign states and drawing up proposals on Georgia's visa policy; issuing, amending and canceling Georgian diplomatic, service and regular passports; issuing, extending, amending and canceling Georgian visas;

n) Department of Human Resources Management aims at drawing up proposals on optimizing management of the Ministry's human resources; drawing up draft orders on appointment, reappointment, dismissal, promotion of, imposing disciplinary sanctions on and granting leaves of absence and business assignments to employees of the Ministry; insuring compliance with the rule of granting diplomatic ranks; creating a single system of training and advanced training for diplomatic personnel; keeping records on employees of the Ministry and those in the reserve; insuring conduction of contests and qualifying exams for employees of the Ministry; forming a reserve of employees and using it purposefully.  

o) Administrative Department aims at insuring organizational and administrative activity of the Ministry, which comprises carrying out legal functions, conducting relations with the parliament and record-keeping; exercising control over protection of state secrets, organizing the Minister's sessions and meetings, carrying out tasks of senior officials of the Ministry, drawing up the Minister's working schedule and insuring its realization organizationally; preparing meetings of commissions and councils set up by the Minister and drawing up minutes of these meetings; defining the legal basis of the Ministry's activity and coordinating its activity with parliament; drawing up, in collaboration with entities of the Ministry, bills and sub-legislative normative acts regulating diplomatic service; assisting parliamentary secretary of the Ministry in carrying out his/her competences stipulated by the Law of Georgia on Parliamentary Secretary.

p) General Inspection aims at exercising control over compliance with the law and disciplinary norms by employees of the Ministry, detecting and preventing disciplinary breaches and other violations; exercising control over lawfulness and purposefulness of costs incurred by structural entities of the Ministry and legal entities of public law under the Ministry; reviewing applications and complaints filed with the Ministry over employment-related offences and drawing up relevant conclusions;

q) Financial Service aims at providing the Ministry with financial service, planning and forming budget of the Ministry, effecting financing of Georgia's diplomatic missions abroad through the funds allocated from state budget, within the approved plan and insuring purposeful use of budgetary funds; book-keeping and reporting; planning and effecting purchase of goods, services and works for the Ministry in accordance with the Law of Georgia on State Purchases;

r) Service of Material-Technical Insurance aims at providing the Ministry with material-technical service, recording movable and immovable property of the Ministry; organizing designing, building, repairing, overhauling and reconstructing works and exercising technical control over their implementation.

2.    The central apparatus of the Ministry includes ambassadors at large, whose main function is to carry out the Minister's concrete tasks and lead concrete sectors of Georgia's foreign policy.

Article 8. Divisions of the Ministry Abroad

Divisions of the Ministry abroad are:

a)     Diplomatic missions;

b)     Consular offices.

2. Diplomatic Mission is a division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia abroad, which represents Georgia during diplomatic and consular relations with host countries and international organizations.

3. Consular Office is a division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia abroad, which represents Georgia during consular relations with the host state and during diplomatic relations with that state where Georgia's diplomatic mission is located.

4. Diplomatic Missions are:

a) Embassy of Georgia in a foreign state;

b) Permanent representation of Georgia to an international organization and diplomatic mission;

5. Consular offices are:

a) General Consulate;

b) Consulate;

c) Consular Agency.

6. Decision on the establishment and abolition of diplomatic mission is adopted by President of Georgia upon presentation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, and on consular office - by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.

7. Diplomatic Mission carries out its activity in coordination with respective territorial and functional department of the Ministry's central apparatus.

Article 9. deleted

Article 10. Legal Entities

1. Legal entities of public law can be set up within the Ministry as prescribed by the applicable Georgian laws.
2. The Ministry exercises state control over the legal entities of public law within the Ministry.
3. Legal entity of public law within the Ministry is Bureau for Translation of International Agreements of Georgia.
4. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia appoints to and dismisses from the position heads of legal entities of public law.

Chapter IV

Service at the Ministry

Article 11. Service at the Ministry

Diplomats and other civil servants are recruited to serve at the Ministry.

Chapter V

Employment-related Control

Article 12. Implementation of Employment-related Control

1.      The Minister, in compliance with the applicable Georgian laws, exercises employment-related control over the entities within the Ministry.

2.      While exercising employment-related control, the Minister issues individual statutory acts.

Chapter VI

Final Provisions

Article 13. Reorganization and Liquidation of the Ministry

Reorganization and Liquidation of the Ministry are subject to the applicable Georgian laws.