The Georgian law on the HIV Infection/AIDS

Prevention

This law determines the basic principles of fight against HIV/AIDS in Georgia, screening of citizens on HIV/AIDS patients' treatment and preventive surveillance and legal regime, also rights and duties of HIV/AIDS patients and medical staff, the questions of their social protection.

CHAPTER 1

General regularities

Article 1. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Conception. Spreading. Importance of the problem.

1. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the infectious disease, caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
2. Due to modern classification, disease is called Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection (HIV infection), but the term AIDS itself means the last stage of the development of the HIV infection, when the patient have the clinical signs of the disease.
3. According to its spreading, development and results HIV/AIDS belongs to the rate of extremely dangerous diseases. Pandemic on HIV/AIDS made a danger to all humanity and faced the world healthcare system the difficult problem. The successful fight against HIV/AIDS is possible only with unification the governments and healthcare stuff of the whole world.
4. The government of Georgia fully recognizes the importance of HIV/AIDS problem and takes state responsibilities for implementation of fight against HIV / AIDS and prevention activities.

CHAPTER II

Anti-HIV infection/AIDS service

Article 2. The Governmental Commission on AIDS. National Programme for HIV/AIDS prevention. Specialized anti-HIV/AIDS service.

1. The Governmental Commission leads anti-HIV/AIDS spreading activities in Georgia. The president of Georgia sets the named commission up. The commission coordinates ministries, departments and companies in anti-HIV/AIDS questions and is responsible to solve any question due to its competency, declared by the president.
2. In recommendations of World Health Organization anti-AIDS global programme for preventing HIV/AIDS, the president of Georgia Issues the anti-AIDS and preventive programme on the basis of Georgian geopolitical and national peculiarities. The Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, any interested ministries, departments, firms, associations, charity organizations, mass media are involved in the programme. The programme is funded from the state budjet as well as from the public and private organizations.
3. The medical preventive activities for HIV/AIDS are carried out by the Specialised anti-HIV/AIDS campaign at the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia.
4. Defending the rights of HIV/AIDS patients works at the juridical branch of the Public Defender of Georgia.

CHAPTER III

Screening of citizens on HIV/AIDS

Article 3. Screening of citizens on HIV/AIDS permanently or timely residing on the territory of Georgia

1. Citizens of Georgia as well as any individual permanently or timely residing on the territory of Georgia, including foreign citizens and internally displaced persons have the right for screening on HIV/AIDS, including anonymously.
2. The specialized anti-HIV/AIDS service of Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia screens the citizens of Georgia on HIV/AIDS.
3. Screening of citizens on HIV/AIDS is voluntary.
4. Medical screening on HIV/AIDS is mandatory only for blood, organ and sperm donors.
5. On the urgent critical occasions, it is possible to use HIV/AIDS untested blood or its products, or organ or tissue taken from the living person in benefit of medical interference. Recipient or his/her legal representative gives written claiming for the medical interference, after which the direct testing on HIV/AIDS is done on the patient.
6. Medical testing defines the necessity of screening the citizens on HIV/AIDS in any occasion, which is supported by the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia.
7. For revealing the HIV/AIDS to run the rules of medical testing is obligatory for the citizens of Georgia, for the individuals permanently or timely residing on the territory of Georgia, including foreign citizens and internally displaced persons and all ministries, departments, organizations, institutes, state and private firms, associations, charity organisations, foreign and joint-stock companies existed on the territory of Georgia, notwithstanding their submission and legal status.
8. Violation of HIV/AIDS testing rules/articles causes prosecution according to the acting legislation.

Article 4. Screening of foreign citizens on HIV/AIDS

Georgian citizens coming from the foreign countries, as well as foreign citizens and internally displaced persons can carry out HIV/AIDS screening according to the articles of the acting legislation.

Article 5. Expenses.

1. For the foreign citizens coming from the foreign countries, as well as Georgian citizens leaving or returning from business trips or journeys or internally displaced persons the screening on HIV/AIDS is charged. The payer could be in screening person, any department, organization, institution, firm etc.
2. For the Georgian citizens as well as foreign citizens, permanently or timely residing on the territory of Georgia including foreign citizens and internally displaced persons ( except leaving or returning from business trips or journeys) HIV/AIDS screening expenses are covered to the acting legislation.
3. Any citizen can take HIV/AIDS paid testing.

CHAPTER IV

HIV/AIDS patients screening, treatment and preventive surveillance

Article 6. HIV/AIDS patients and being in contact with them persons preventive surveillance

1. Persons who carried HIV/AIDS testing according to the named legislation, heaving the HIV/AIDS results, are informed in written form by the healthcare bodies and institutions to prevent spreading of HIV/AIDS. The patient signs that he/she acknowledged the rules. If the patient could not prevent the actions of spreading of HIV/AIDS due to his/her little age, psychical conditions or any other reasons, the written notification is sent to the guardian of the HIV/AIDS patient.
2. The citizens of Georgia, as well as the foreign citizens permanently or timely residing the territory of Georgia, foreign citizens or internally displaced persons revealing their HIV infection or the persons in contact with them must undergo preventive tests.

Article 7. HIV/AIDS patients screening treatment and in-patient control

1. Anti-HIV/AIDS specialized service at the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia supervises clinical and laboratory screening, treatment and in-patient control of HIV/AIDS patients.
2. The Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia determines the preventive rights of screening, treating and surveillance of named patients according to the named legislation.
3. The expenses for the clinical and lab screening treating and in-patient control of HIV/AIDS patients is covered according to the acting legislation of health defence.