Council Regulations obligated its members to justify any of their decisions. Public Defender demanded from the City Hall to annul all the decisions which lacked argumentation. Initiative for Public Space appealed against unjustified permits in court 5 times. The organization lost 3 cases, 2 are still going on.
“Council’s main disadvantage was that its members didn’t get salaries” – former Chairperson of Zoning Council Mikheil Avaliani says, - “Of course you get suspicious, there is the risk of conflict of interest and corruption, because people come, work for the whole day, but nobody pays them anything for their work.”
Transparency International Georgia’s research explored conflict of interest in Zoning Council. The researchers found that some high-ranking officials of Tbilisi City Hall were members of the Council and at the same time owned shares in construction companies.