The so-called American analog of the FARA law - on “foreign agents” - came into force in Georgia on May 31, Sova reports.
Unlike the law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” (the Russian analogue of the law on foreign agents - ed.), adopted in 2024, the FARA law (according to the Georgian Dream) provides for imprisonment for up to 5 years and applies to both organizations and individuals.
The draft addresses issues of registration, disclosure of relevant documents, and submission of an annual financial declaration. The conditions for de-registration and monitoring mechanisms to be entrusted to the Anti-Corruption Bureau are also defined.
Meanwhile, NGOs in Georgia are sure that the FARA law will become a weapon of punishment for civil society. The law “on the registration of foreign agents” of Georgia will be appealed in the Constitutional Court (CC) - this was announced earlier by the “Young Lawyers Association” (AMYUG, GYLA). This NGO, together with the media outlets Studio Monitor and Georgian News, have already filed a relevant lawsuit with the CC.
The OSCE/ODIHR criticized the new draft law and stated that the U.S. FARA, on the basis of which the new Georgian law is based, has legal safeguards that prevent the labeling of civil society.
The FARA law was approved in final reading by the Georgian parliament in early April 2024 - it is a literal translation of the American FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act) law.
