The Constitutional Court of Georgia has started consideration of the lawsuit of the president and the opposition against the “law on foreign agents”

On Thursday, August 29, the Constitutional Court of Georgia began considering lawsuits against the law “On transparency of foreign influence”. Lawsuits were filed by President Salome Zurabishvili, 38 members of parliament, 122 non-governmental organizations and two media outlets. These cases caused a significant resonance in society and are widely covered by the Georgian media, in particular “Radio Svoboda” and NewsGeorgia.

The plenary session of the court, consisting of all judges of the Constitutional Court, is considering the case, but judge Iryne Imerlishvili is not participating due to her health.

Lawsuits are filed with various justifications:

• President Salome Zurabishvili states that some articles of the law violate the rights to free personal development, private life, freedom of information and mass media. She also claims that the law contradicts Georgia’s desire to integrate into European and Euro-Atlantic structures.
• 122 non-governmental organizations, including public and media associations, believe that the law violates the rights to freedom of information, freedom of mass media and limits constitutional rights to create associations.
• 38 opposition deputies are of the opinion that certain articles of the law violate the right to association, and the law itself contradicts the constitutional norm on European integration.
• Two media that specialize in investigations — “Studio Monitor” and “Network of Information Centers” believe that the law violates the rights to equality, freedom of information and the right to association.

The plaintiffs emphasize that the law contains terminology and mechanisms that can lead to the stigmatization of public organizations and mass media, hinder their activities, and also lead to the delay or termination of their work.

On August 29, the Constitutional Court also received another, fifth lawsuit against the law “on foreign agents”, submitted by the “Association of Law Firms of Georgia”. This lawsuit is currently unregistered, so it will be considered separately from the previous four.