Venice Commission urges Georgian authorities to not proceed with constitutional amendments on “protection of family values and minors”

The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe on Tuesday urged the Georgian authorities to not proceed with constitutional amendments to the bill on “protection of family values and minors”, submitted this month to the country’s Parliament.

The opinion of the body came after the parliamentary majority of the ruling Georgian Dream party on June 4 tabled the legislative package that includes clauses to ensure “practical application” of the 2017 definition of marriage as a “union between a man and a woman for the purpose of creating a family” and prohibit “production of LGBT propaganda” in educational institutions - in particular, dissemination of information “aimed at the promotion of a person's belonging to a different gender than their own, same-sex relationships or incest”.

In its opinion, the Commission urged the national authorities to reconsider the legislative proposal “entirely”, while also recommending a set of changes to its terminology if the draft were to be maintained.

It added some of the amendments were contrary to European and international standards, considering judicial practice of the European Court of Human Rights and the Commission’s previous opinions, and added even the “mere proposal of adopting this text risks to (further) fuel a hostile and stigmatising atmosphere against LGBTI people in Georgia”.

In other comments on the bill, the body said it “regrets that a legislative initiative aimed at integrating the Georgian Constitution and touching upon highly sensitive issues” had been launched in a period of time that was seeing “vigorous and prolonged” mass protests and “strong political and societal tensions” in the country and just months before the parliamentary elections set for October, “disregarding the concerns raised by several international observers”.

It said it recommended carrying out a “thorough and well substantiated analysis of the impact” of the new provisions on the national system prior to their adoption, involving “all segments of society and especially the representatives of sexual and gender minorities”, as well as experts and professionals in law, health, education, social care and more.

The Commission also said analysis of such amendments should be made public and carried out in a period of time that is “propitious for a genuine and unbiased consultation”, allowing for an “honest and impartial” assessment of the issues at stake.