Constitutional Court of Georgia started a regulatory session to address the lawsuits filed against the Transparency of Foreign Influence Law, 1tv.ge reports.
According to the Court’s press office, the Court will hold a hearing on the cases of the President of Georgia, the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information, Rights Georgia, the Civil Society Foundation” and others (a total of 122 plaintiffs), MPs Tamar Kordzaia, Ana Natsvlishvili, Levan Bezhashvili and others (total 38 MPs), Network of Information Centers and Studio Monitor against the Parliament of Georgia.
The plaintiffs believe that the adoption of the very law contradicts the main principles of the Georgian Constitution and hinders Georgia’s accession to the European Union, thereby violating the obligation defined by Article 78 of the Constitution of Georgia.
The lawsuits find the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence disputable in defining the registration rule of a subject as an organization pursuing foreign interests and transparency of its activities.
The plaintiffs argue that the terminology and other repressive mechanisms as in the law causes stigmatization of civic organizations and media outlets, obstructs their activities and goals and would lead to termination of their functioning.
The authors of the constitutional lawsuits are also petitioning to suspend the validity of the disputed norms until the final decision is taken by the Constitutional Court.
The Plenum of the Constitutional Court of Georgia will review the case.
This law mandates the registration of non-commercial entities and media outlets designated as ‘organizations serving the interests of a foreign power’ if they receive more than 20% of their income from abroad.
According to the law, these organizations must register in a public database under the same name and declare their received income annually.
