The Special Investigation Service, with the participation of experts from the Council of Europe (CoE), the European Union and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), developed the investigation policy documents according to the standards of the European Court.

Since its establishment, the service has chosen high standards, transparent investigation and care for the protection of citizens' rights as its three main priorities. For the implementation of the set goals to develop a unified investigation policy became necessary, which, in turn, refers to the integration of relations with citizens, and victims, conducting and planning of investigative activities, as well as the decision-making process into a unified strategy and policy.

On March 31, 2024, the Special Investigation Service submitted the Annual Report 2023 to the Parliament of Georgia, which contains information about the projects implemented by the service during the year according to the standards of the European Court.

The Service developed a guideline document for the qualification of the facts of ill-treatment, which was developed based on the decisions and recommendations of the European Court with the support of the Council of Europe (CoE) and was presented to the representatives of the Public Defender's Office, non-governmental organizations and the academia.

The guideline document for qualification, which contributes to the establishment of unified practices and reduces the risks of covering cases of torture and ill-treatment with official misconduct, was positively evaluated by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe as a positive step taken by the state in the process of combating ill-treatment.

According to the standards of the European Court, the Service also developed the rules for the use of handcuffs by law enforcement officers, with the participation of an expert from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The above-mentioned initiative will establish a unified standard for the use of handcuffs, create additional guarantees for the protection of citizens' rights, and reduce the risks of improper use of handcuffs against detained persons.

Within the framework of the unified investigation policy, with the support of the European Council and based on the standards of the European Court, an inquiry guide, a methodology for the investigation of violations of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as well as hate crimes and discrimination were also developed.

The Service has also developed an instruction for monitoring criminal cases to define unified standards for evaluating the quality of investigations and to write down in detail all the criteria for the proper implementation of effective investigation principles.

The use of each of these documents developed according to the standards of the European Court in practice will further contribute to the transparency, protection of citizens' rights and effectiveness of the investigation carried out by the Special Investigation Service.

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