Young Lawyers: Only Tea Godoladze and North Korea Hide Seismic Indicators

Young Lawyers organization has applied to Ilia State University principal Giga Zedania and urged him to take efficient steps for making seismic data accessible in Georgia, allow all researchers and interested bodies to have free access to this information, because the full catalog of earthquakes (including small magnitude earthquakes) is open in all countries, excluding such countries as North Korea and Russia.

As noted by Young Lawyers director Archil Kaikatsishvili, the issue is of Georgia’s seismic data owned and processed by Ilia State University’s Institute of Earth Sciences and Seismic Monitoring. It turns out that the institute refuses to open seismic data for researchers and asserts that it receives the mentioned information from international databases that comprise scanty information on earthquakes of over 3 magnitudes. The organization has started exploring the issues and requested information from various offices whether the Government has seismic security national strategy. The organization is also interested to know how open is or should be seismic data for interested bodies, particularly for the field specialists. Ilia State University is a successful educational and research center in Georgia and it should not look like North Korea. The Organization has already applied to the National Science Academy of Geo

rgia and got to know the official position of the owner of seismic data in Georgia. According to the Earth Science Department of the Academy, N. Nodia Geophysics Institute has submitted a substantiated and just application to provide free access to the so-called initial databases of Ilia State University’s Institute of Earth Sciences and Seismic Monitoring. Though, Tea Godoladze, director of the corresponding unit categorically denies transmitting these indicators. Having studied the practice in various countries, we have made a regretful conclusion – Georgia acts as North Korea. Only North Korea and Tea Godoladze hide seismic data from researchers. The Academy of Science has no legal ground to take any directive decisions in this case and it is impossible to establish an unbiased and impartial commission because all field specialists in Georgia represent one or another party and the working process in the commission will grow into endless disputes.

Therefore, it is upon the court system to take due decisions on the issue. Young Lawyers continue advocating the issue. The organization has already applied to the Government of Georgia, Parliament of Georgia, Ministry of Education and Science, Interior Ministry’s Service for Emergency Situations, National Science Academy of Georgia, Ilia State University’s Institute of Earth Sciences and Seismic Monitoring, N. Nodia Geophysics Institute. Consequently, the organization expresses readiness to apply to the court if the access to seismic indicators is not provided by mutual agreement of the Parties.