Omar Smyr: “No Plans for Harmonisation of Laws on Apartments, Business Privileges, or Energy”
Examining Abkhazia-Russia legislative ties through official protocols.
SUKHUM / AQW'A ― According to the leaked protocol, Russia is advocating for the removal of restrictions on Russian investors in the commercial real estate market, the ratification of an agreement on the mutual recognition of judicial and arbitration decisions, and the implementation of investment projects by Russian legal entities in Abkhazia.
Yesterday, on 5 September, the official website of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Abkhazia published information from the Ministry of Economy concerning the harmonisation of legislation between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation.
Lawyer Omar Smyr commented on the Ministry of Economy's statement regarding the legislative harmonisation between Abkhazia and Russia through his Facebook page. He also shared documents, including Presidential Order No. 401 from 31 October 2019, and a letter from the Prime Minister of the Republic of Abkhazia, dated 3 December 2019, which outlined a plan for the unification of legislation (as opposed to harmonisation), stating: "Pay attention to which specific laws the previous government planned to unify. Compare this with what was approved in 2020 and 2024."
His full comments are below:
I read with great interest the information provided by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Abkhazia. I find it necessary to provide a commentary on its content.
Article 23 of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation, dated 17 September 2008, states that "The Contracting Parties will take measures to unify the legislation governing economic activities, including civil and tax legislation, as well as legislation in the field of social protection of the population and pension provision."
Article 11 of the Treaty on Alliance and Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation, dated 24 November 2014, stipulates that "The Republic of Abkhazia shall, no later than three years from the date of entry into force of this Treaty, implement a set of measures to harmonise its customs legislation with the acts of the Eurasian Economic Union’s customs regulation, and in areas not covered by such regulation, with the legislation of the Russian Federation."
Based on the above, the assertion that the legislative harmonisation plan stems from the 2014 Treaty is incorrect. That Treaty only provided for the harmonisation of customs legislation.
As for Presidential Order No. 401-RP of 31 October 2019, in this document, the President instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to develop and implement a programme for the unification of legislation.
In execution of this Order, on 3 December 2019, the Prime Minister sent the Russian side a draft Joint Plan for the unification of the legislation of the Republic of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation.
The unification draft included the following sections:
- Civil legislation
- Tax legislation
- Legislation in the field of social protection
- Healthcare legislation
- Budgetary legislation
- Customs legislation
Based on these documents, we can unequivocally conclude that the Abkhaz side had no plans for harmonisation involving the adoption of laws on apartments, agreements on the recognition of court and arbitration decisions, agreements on privileges for large businesses, privatisation of the energy sector, and so on.
I have attached Presidential Order No. 401 of 31 October 2019, and the letter from the Prime Minister of the Republic of Abkhazia dated 3 December 2019, with the accompanying Plan for the unification of legislation (not harmonisation). Pay attention to which specific laws the previous government planned to unify. Compare this with what was approved in 2020 and 2024.