This article was reprinted with permission after being published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
A widely detested new laws that threatens to publicly undermine tons of media sources and civil society organizations as” serving” outside powers came into effect in Georgia on August 1, two weeks after the ruling party swept away a jumble of domestic opposition and international cautions that its section threatens further connectivity with the West.
Multiple lawsuits are still pending that challenge the law’s constitutionality, including President Salome Zurabishvili’s first-ever appeal to the Constitutional Court.
Independent organizations and media outlets must register with a public registry that indicates they are” serving foreign interests” if 20 % of their funding comes from abroad. A 60-day preparatory period was included in its enactment on June 3.
At a press briefing on July 30th, Justice Minister Rati Bregadze, whose ministry will manage the registry, announced that “everything is ready from August 1] and organizations that meet these criteria can apply to us.”
Consistent penalties can be imposed for noncompliance.
An overwhelming majority of Georgia’s 10, 000 or so nonprofits are thought to receive funding from abroad.
Dozens of prominent organizations have  , vowed , not to comply with the law, but activists say the accompanying fines would sink many smaller NGOs.
More than a year prior to the ruling Georgian Dream and its allies ‘ pressure over a similar bill that referred to foreign “agents” as foreign “agents,” the law’s passage in May of that law was passed.
In mid-April, thousands of Georgians braved a brutal crackdown and violent retaliation to protest the slightly revised bill, whose aim and effect have been compared to tens of thousands of years of Russian legislation that has scuttled independent media and public dissent.
It is commonly referred to as” the Russian law” by most protesters. Many other Georgians, along with outside critics, call it the “foreign agent” law.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze argues the law will promote” transparency” and national sovereignty, although NGOs were already required to disclose their funding to the government.
The plaintiffs in each case requesting a stay of enforcement until the dispute is settled have already filed with Georgia’s Constitutional Court.
The first , came , from Zurabishvili, whose veto of the law was overridden in an 84-4 vote in the 150-member parliament that was boycotted by the opposition. Since backing her for president in 2018, Zanubishvili’s relationship with the Georgian Dream party erupted dramatically, with some accusing it of adopting pro-Moscow positions.
Numerous opposition lawmakers filed yet another complaint.
In both of those cases, Article 78 of the Georgian Constitution is invoked, which mandates that officials “take all steps within the scope of their competences to ensure” Georgia’s membership in NATO and the European Union.
Giorgi Vashadze, the leader of the Strategy Aghmashenebeli party, criticized the appeal he and 37 other lawmakers filed on July 29 saying,” Georgian Dream stopped the path of integration into the European Union by adopting the Russian law.” This is a clear-cut fact, according to the author. Therefore, it is unmistakably averred that Georgia’s constitution was violated.
The European Union has paused candidate Georgia’s negotiations toward membership, saying the law is antithetical to the bloc’s core democratic values.
Since the law was reinstated three months ago, Kobakhidze and other Georgian Dream officials have said they have reviewed their relations with Tbilisi.
This week, Washington , announced , the suspension of$ 95 million in Georgian aid over factors including “anti-democratic actions”. Additionally, it sounded as though the Georgian government had created a new barrier to its membership in NATO and the EU.
Zurabishvili’s complaint also cites protections including the right of free association, the right to protection from coercion, and privacy, among other things.
122 media and civil society organizations filed a third appeal to the Supreme Court on a number of the same grounds.
The law gives the Justice Ministry the power to request personal information about individuals associated with targeted organizations, including details about a person’s political views, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or sex life.
Constitutional Court Chairman Merab Turava , said , the cases will be adjudicated together.
The nine-member court will likely review the case’s specifics for at least a month.
Despite the possibility that the legislation will cause groups on the registry to be treated similarly stigmatized as it is felt in Russia, government officials have consistently resisted labeling the legislation as” Russian” or as designating “foreign agents.”
At his July 33 press conference, Justice Minister Bregadze , ignored a question , after objecting to the journalist’s “formulation” describing it as the “foreign agent” law.
