Georgian president appeals to Constitutional Court on law on 'foreign agents'

Georgian President Salome Zourabishvili has filed a motion against the law on "foreign agents" to the Constitutional Court of Georgia, the presidential secretary, Georgiy Mskhiladze, said on July 15 at a briefing at the presidential administration.

The Georgian president has appealed to the Constitutional Court for the first time over a law, according to Mskhiladze. The law is unconstitutional and contradicts Article 78 of the Georgian Constitution, he added.

"The lawsuit challenges some provisions of the law that violate several fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. With this lawsuit, the president demands suspension of the law and its final repeal," Mskhiladze said.

Zourabichvili initially vetoed the bill, which requires organizations that receive foreign funding to be labeled as "foreign agents" and mirrors repressive Russian legislation used to crack down on Kremlin critics.

The Georgian parliament, dominated by the ruling Georgian Dream party, bypassed the president's veto on May 28 with 84 lawmakers voting in support.

Georgia's public defender, Levan Yoseliani, as well as non-governmental organizations and various media outlets, also plan to file similar lawsuits with the Constitutional Court, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)'s Echo of the Caucasus project.

Starting from August, NGOs and media outlets that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad, based on 2023 data, must register with the authorities within a month as "foreign agents."

The law allows the authorities to monitor such organizations and obtain required information like personal data.

The legislation was heavily criticized by both domestic opposition and the EU. Its reintroduction into the parliament in April led to massive protests, with the police reportedly firing at the demonstrators with rubber bullets and water cannons.

Washington and Brussels have denounced the bill as incompatible with Western values, and voices within the EU called for freezing Georgia's membership candidate status if the law is implemented.

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The Kyiv IndependentPeter Leonard