Draft Law of Georgia on Foreign Influence Transparency
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Georgia
ICNL’s resources and information on Georgia.
Georgia: The Foreign Agents Registration Act
On April 2, the President of Georgia signed the Foreign Agents Registration Act (hereinafter – the Georgian FARA). Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have expressed concern that the Georgian FARA will be used against NGOs, independent media, and citizens who oppose the government’s policies. Among other requirements, the law requires individuals and entities to register as “foreign agents” if they are acting “at the authority, request, order, or control of a foreign principal” to engage in broadly defined “political activities,” in the interests or on behalf of the foreign principal. The law also introduces burdensome compliance requirements for “foreign agents” and severe criminal penalties for violations.
Implications of the Implementing Regulation to the Law of Georgia on Transparency of Foreign Influence
The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) and the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) prepared the overview of the Regulation for the USAID Civil Society Engagement Program. In the overview, we provide interpretations and analysis of the requirements in the Regulation, including the submission of a Financial Declaration, to help NNLEs better understand the requirements and their implications for the activities of such organizations.
Review of the Implementing Regulation to the Law of Georgia on Transparency of Foreign Influence
On August 1, 2024, the Ministry of Justice of Georgia (MoJ) adopted the “Rule for Registration, Financial Declaration Submission, and Monitoring of Organizations Acting in the Interests of Foreign Powers” (hereafter referred to as “the Regulation”) in implementation of the Law of Georgia on Transparency of Foreign Influence (hereinafter “the Law”).
Read the full Brief, available in English, here.
Overview of Georgia’s Foreign Influence Law
On May 14, 2024, the Georgian parliament adopted the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence. The law requires civil society and media organizations to register and submit information for a special registry maintained by the Ministry of Justice. Under the new law, the Ministry also gains broad inspection powers. The President vetoed the Law on May 18, but parliament can override it. If passed, the Law will take effect 60 days after publication.
Upholding Civic Freedom in Georgia
In early 2023, Georgians took to the streets to protest a highly restrictive draft foreign agent law. If adopted, the law would have required civil society organizations (CSOs) that receive more than 20 percent of their income from abroad to register as foreign agents. Branding these organizations as such would have implied that they were spies, discrediting their work and undermining civil society more broadly. The draft also granted enforcement at the government’s discretion, thereby allowing the prosecution of opponents.
Find the full analysis here.
Georgia’s Broadcasting Law Amendments
The Georgian Parliament adopted the Law of Georgia “On Introducing Amendments to the Law ‘On Broadcasting’” (the Law) on October 19, 2023. The Law does not comply with multiple Georgian international law commitments. The Georgian civil society expressed concern that the Law grants increased discretionary powers to the Georgian state authorities to control and censor Georgian media organizations and can be used to punish critical media. Read the full analysis here.
Review of Georgia’s Law on Assemblies and Manifestations
The Law of Georgia “On Introducing Amendments to the Law ‘On Assemblies and Manifestations’” was adopted on October 5, 2023, and is awaiting the approval of the President. The law’s stated purpose is to facilitate authorities safe management of public gatherings and exercise of freedom of expression. It was put forward in reaction to a State Security Service of Georgia advisory regarding a potential attack on protests in late 2023. Find the full analysis here.
Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index
The index, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development for twenty years, documents the development of civil society in seventy-one countries around the world, including Georgia. ICNL and FHI 360 work with local partners to produce the index annually.
VISIT FHI360'S SITE FOR THE FULL CSOSI REPORT