With assistance of the LAS public lawyer, Abel Gegia, the IDP family won the dispute in court regarding provision with accommodation.
Mziuri K. who was an IDP from Abkhazia addressed Legal Aid Service after she received refusal from the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia to provide her five-member family with accommodation. The reason for refusal was a position of the Ministry according to which while filling the application form, Mziuri K. artificially tried to unite her family in order to receive the apartment with area from 65 to 80 m2. In fact, members of the family of Mziuri K.: her son, her daughter-in-law and their two children lived separately.
The Ministry of IDPs argued its position with circumstances that the daughter-in-law of Mziuri K. was registered with another number in the IDPs database. Moreover, while checking the living conditions of the family, the Ministry employee found out only Mziuri K. at home.
After the public lawyer Abel Gegia got involved in the process it became clear that the Ministry made decision without proper examination of the above-mentioned case. As it turned out, since 1999 Mziuri K. and her son lived in Khobi, in the wrecking building of the former Regional Committee with the area of 11 m2. The building was not supplied with electricity and potable water which made their living more unbearable, especially, for her son’s young children. In such situation, parents with their children had to live with the relatives.
According to Abel Gegia, the Ministry did not do its best to study the situation of the family. Mziuri K. lacked the possibility to present her evidences to the Ministry.
Finally, the court shared the position of the public lawyer: it annulled the decisions of the Ministry basing on which the application of Mziuri K. was not satisfied. The Ministry was obliged to study the case and issues new legal act regarding provision with accommodation.