Foreign transparency law registration deadline for Georgian-based organisations passes

The voluntary deadline for Georgian-based organisations to register under the recently enacted Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence passed on Monday amidst ongoing legal challenges against the legislation in the country’s Constitutional Court.

The law, passed by the Parliament in May, requires non-commercial entities and media outlets to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad. Subjects could submit their applications to register with the status at branches of the Public Service Hall in 30 cities across Georgia.

If an organisation meets the criteria defined by the law but refuses to register, it will be fined ₾25,000 ($9,000) and registered unilaterally by the responsible agency.

The Constitutional Court’s plenum last week concluded its regulatory session on the law, following submission of four lawsuits that argue the legislation contradicts the country’s constitution and hinders its European integration. 

The court has now moved to the deliberation stage and must decide whether to initiate a substantive review of the case, which challenges the constitutionality of the law and its specific articles. 

The plaintiffs, including the President of Georgia, non-governmental and media organisations, and opposition MPs, have requested that the law and its provisions be suspended pending a final decision.

A ruling on whether the Court will proceed with the case is expected in the coming days, as several organisations, including Transparency International Georgia, refused to register under the law.

Transparency International Georgia will not comply with the law. We refuse to live under a Russian law in Georgia. While we are aware of certain steps being taken by the Government, we are not concerned with them. Our primary focus is on the upcoming [October 26 general] elections and ensuring their observation”, Eka Gigauri, the head of TI Georgia, told the press on Monday.

Archil Talakvadze, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday accused domestic NGOs of “bullying” organisations that had chosen to register under the law, citing the Shame movement, which initially registered but later revoked its decision.

Georgian PM: Shame Movement “proves to be shame itself”

It took just a few hours for the so-called defenders of freedom, democracy, and human rights to pressure one of the most active organisations into retracting its decision and removing its registration from the Ministry of Justice. How can these people claim to stand for freedom, democracy, and a free society after that?”, he told the press.

Tamar Tkeshelashvili, the First Deputy Justice Minister, told the Constitutional Court last week 360 organisations had submitted applications for registration and noted approximately 30,000 NGOs were registered in Georgia, with around 1,200 being state-based and exempt from registration requirements.

Georgia’s Deputy Justice Minister dismisses stigmatisation concerns over Foreign Transparency Law

Davit Devidze, the Director of the Public Registry, said nearly 30,000 non-commercial legal entities had been registered in Georgia since the 1990s, but added some of the organisations were now inactive.