Statements

In July 2026, the Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the judgments of the courts of first and appellate instance, declared unlawful the dismissal of Marina Taktakishvili, Teimuraz Sakvarelidze, and E.S. From the LEPL "National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation," and ordered the respondent to pay compensation for forced absence from work as well as additional compensation.

On November 25, 2021, following the appointment of Tea Tsulukiani as Minister of Culture, a reorganisation began at the LEPL "National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation" with the stated purpose of verifying employees' competence. Notably, to verify the competence of the Agency's staff, testing was scheduled for general skills and mathematics. The test contained no professional questions, and no minimum threshold for confirming competence was established.

The plaintiffs successfully passed both the testing and interview stages; however, some employees were dismissed without any justification, while those who were retained were given new contracts. This proved to be temporary, and a new wave of "purging" personnel unacceptable to the new Minister began again in 2022, nine months later, through another reorganisation. At that time, on January 15, 2022, employees were dismissed from their positions on the grounds that their competence allegedly did not correspond to the positions they held.

It should be noted that during neither reorganisation were professionals from the relevant field present at the interview process. Instead, individuals who were not representatives of the field served on the commission as invited experts. These were mostly lawyers who asked general questions with no connection whatsoever to the plaintiffs' professional activities. At the same time, no audio or video recordings of the interviews were made.

Marina Taktakishvili had worked at the LEPL National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation since 2012 in the field of intangible cultural heritage. She was a member of the Cultural Heritage Protection Council of the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Georgia and Secretary of the Intangible Heritage Section of the same Council. Her work was connected to scientific research and the protection and promotion of cultural heritage; she is the author of numerous studies and works. After the 2021 reorganisation, Marina Taktakishvili was retained in her position; however, nine months later, another reorganisation began at the Agency, during which the plaintiff was deemed an undesirable candidate for the commission and was dismissed from her position, entirely unlawfully and without justification.

Teimuraz Sakvarelidze had been employed at the Agency since its establishment in 2009 in the administrative and maintenance department, where his duties included supervising and controlling logistical matters. During the 2021 reorganisation, Teimuraz Sakvarelidze was not dismissed; however, nine months later, his experience was deemed insufficient by the new management, and he was dismissed from his position without any justification.

E.S. had been employed at the Agency since its establishment in 2009, in the position of Head of the Accounting and Reporting Department, and after the 2021 reorganization was transferred to the position of Senior Specialist of the Economic Department. Her responsibilities included managing the Agency's financial reports and accounting, as well as coordinating with other departments. Despite her many years of service, E.S., like the other plaintiffs, was unlawfully dismissed from her position following the 2022 reorganisation.

The plaintiffs' interests were represented in court by Teona Kiladze, a lawyer of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED).

We remind the public that as a result of the 2021 and 2022 reorganisations, top-class specialists in museum affairs and cultural heritage preservation were dismissed from their positions. The professional reputation, academic credentials, and research of each of them are well known in professional circles. Accordingly, the dismissal of professionals of this calibre is inexplicable and causes significant harm to the cultural sphere.

ISFED continues to protect citizens' interests in labour disputes in order to ensure a fair and non-discriminatory working environment. If you believe that you have been dismissed from your job on political or other discriminatory grounds, please contact us at: info@isfed.ge