The President of Georgia published motivated remarks on the “Russian law” adopted by the Parliament of Georgia on May 14, 2024.
The president’s reasoning says that the law closely replicates the spirit of the Russian law and is effectively the same as the “agents law” recalled in 2023.
She further claims that the law is unconstitutional because it:
“Is contrary to Article 22 of the Constitution (freedom of association) — the law forces organizations to register, to claim the carrying out of the interests of a foreign power, i.e. as agents. Forcing such self-recognition leads to their stigmatization. The law creates all the conditions to limit the activity of an organization and eventually shut it down;
“Contravenes Article 15 of the Constitution (rights to privacy and family life, personal space and communication) — the law imposes, among other things, the obligation to provide special categories of personal data, which violates the constitutional rights of a person to have his personal and family space protected from any unjustified interference. In this regard, the law serves to intimidate and instill fear.
“Is contrary to Article 11 of the Constitution (right to equality) — It is discriminatory as it covers only a specific segment of the union, and it is unjustified why it discriminates against non-profit organizations based on their receiving foreign funding. In evaluating the law in force in Hungary, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) concluded that the distinction between legal entities in Hungary based on the source of funding constitutes indirect discrimination.
“Is contrary to Article 78 of the Constitution (integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures) — the law, in its form and content, represents a real obstacle to Georgia’s European integration. The position of the official structures of the European Union is clear — the law is against European values and requirements for a country with the status of a candidate for EU membership. The law directly contradicts the obligation imposed by the constitution on the constitutional bodies to take all measures for the integration of the country into the European Union.
“It is impossible to improve this law. The law in its entire content is unconstitutional, therefore un-Georgian, un-European and un-democratic. Thus, it is not subject to improvement by making changes to it, because its essence, its content and principles are unacceptable. Accordingly, the repeal of the law has no alternative and represents the will of the Georgian people,” say the motivated remarks of the president.
Taking into account all of the above, the President proposes to Parliament that the law be repealed as soon as possible, the next day, and the relevant bill submitted.
The draft law returned to Parliament has only one clause added: This law shall be effective on the 1st day after its enactment.
The motivated remarks of the President are accompanied by the legal conclusion made by the OSCE/ODIR in July 2023 as an appendix.
Anri Okhanashvili, the Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament, said that the motivated remarks of the President “are not substantive, as provided by the Constitution of Georgia”.
“This is a document close to the veto, which is a purely formalistic substitute for the content of the veto. If she really thought that this law is problematic, why didn’t she justify it, why didn’t she write specific motivated notes, why didn’t she explain? How can you have an argument and not write it in the text? They can’t write because they don’t have arguments. We will, of course, consider this formal veto from a procedural point of view, and we will overcome it by following the appropriate procedures”, Okhanashvili said.
The parliamentary secretary of the president, Giorgi Mskhiladze, said that there is an attempt by the parliamentary majority to mislead the public, as if the President of Georgia had returned the veto to the law to Parliament without motivated remarks.
“This is a lie and misleads the public. The President’s veto is motivated. It describes 4 articles of the constitution, and adding a single sentence to the law is the legal technique required to repeal the law. If the law is not enacted, it is impossible to cancel it,” Mskhiladze explained.
On May 18, President Salome Zurabishvili vetoed the Russian law. She claimed that the Russian law is not able to have any kind of change or improvement and should be repealed in its entirety.
Image: Netgazeti
