This section outlines basic tasks and responsibilities of agencies constituting the security sector with reference to the Georgian security sector as it is currently constituted.

In order for the democratic governance of the security sector to be effective it is crucial to ensure that the management and internal governance mechanisms of all security sector agencies:

• are consistent with the values and laws of the society which they serve by providing public security
• uphold international human rights principles and standards
• are sufficient to guarantee the delivery of public security
• are staffed by civilian professionals

Effective internal governance involves the use of complementary horizontal and vertical governance structures. The level of transparency of such internal management arrangements will also affect the legitimacy of the security institutions. Security institutions that are responsive to public needs tend to be transparent; those which are indifferent to public needs tend to be opaque. This section outlines key institutional governance issues.