Despite the court’s ruling, the National Assessment and Examinations Center (NAEC) refuses to schedule a supplementary exam for an applicant who failed to attend the history examination due to a health condition. Failure to enact a court decision is a criminal offense. If the state agency does not change its decision, the applicant will lose one academic year.
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The National Examinations Center was ordered to admit the applicant to the supplementary history exam by the decision of the Tbilisi City Court on July 27. The organization Partnership for Human Rights, which protects the interests of the applicant, demanded the immediate execution of the judgment on July 28, which the state agency refused on August 2 on the grounds that it had already conducted a supplementary history exam on July 25.
Lawyers believe that conducting a scheduled supplementary exam does not release the center from the obligation to conduct an additional exam as by the court's decision.
“In my memory, this was the first time a state body refused to enact a court decision. NAEC wrote to the applicant that it will not comply with the court order – the reason is legally irrelevant, as failure to comply with the court order is a criminal offense.
This is not just the non-enforcement of one decision relating to a specific applicant but flies in the face of the rule of law in the country. Allowing even one precedent of disregarding a court's decision threatens to render all future decisions unenforceable. Why should someone else comply with the decision if the administrative body itself refuses to? This is the beginning of a very serious legal crisis,” says lawyer Ana Arganashvili.
The 18-year-old applicant, who appealed to the court to protect his right to education, passed two exams at the unified national exams. On July 17, he could not take the history exam due to health complications. According to the case file, on July 16, the applicant had a severe toothache, swelling, and temperature. As a result of a visit to the dentist, it became necessary to have a surgical tooth extraction. On July 17, the day of the history exam, the applicant had a temperature of up to 40 degrees, body weakness, allergic reaction to the antibiotic prescribed by the doctor, and difficulty getting up. According to the doctor's assessment, it was impossible for him to concentrate and move, including appearing for the exam. The applicant's mother applied to the National Examination Center and requested her son's admission to the supplementary examination, but she did not receive an answer from the center.
According to the order of the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, the applicant has the right to request a supplementary examination if s/he was unable to appear for the exam due to a health condition, having spent at least a day in a stationary medical facility, or due to force majeure. The applicant's lawyers explained in court that one of the reasons why the family was unable to transfer the applicant to a stationary facility is a difficult financial situation.
Within 24 hours, after reviewing the case materials, the Tbilisi City Court satisfied the appeal of the applicant and his lawyers for a temporary ruling. Judge Tsitsino Rokhvadze explained that the applicant really did have a health problem that prevented him from appearing for the exam and concentrating on exam issues. The judge ordered the National Examinations Center to ensure that the applicant was admitted to the supplementary history examination.
Partnership for Human Rights calls on NAEC to ensure the protection of the applicant's right to education and a fair hearing and to allow him to take an additional history exam.
