The draft law proposed by People's Power movement in the Georgian parliament, which labels a large number of non-governmental organizations and media outlets as “foreign agents”, does not comply with human rights international protection standards and is incompatible with the basic principles of a modern democratic state, the Public Defender’s office of Georgia says.
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- According to the draft law, an agent of foreign influence is a non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entity (non-governmental organization) and a media outlet, whose more than 20% of income is from abroad, with the exception of those organizations established by an administrative body (state or municipal body/institution) or national sports federations.
- Such legal entities will be subject to financial reporting obligations, which include, providing information on the amount and purpose of any money spent during the previous calendar year. Information entered in the registry of agents of foreign influence is public.
- According to the draft law, in order to identify the “agent of foreign influence”, the Ministry of Justice of Georgia will have the opportunity to carry out monitoring, within the framework of which, it will be granted the authority to process all necessary information, including personal data.
- The basis for starting monitoring is: the decision of the relevant authorized person of the Ministry of Justice; A written statement submitted to the Ministry containing a proper reference to a specific agent of foreign influence;
- According to the draft law, the ministry is also given the authority to impose fines of 10, 20 and 25 thousand GEL and to force registration of organizations.
Public Defenders’ office points out that the freedom of assembly, association and expression guaranteed by Georgian Constitution is a necessary prerequisite for the existence of a democratic society, which enables non-governmental and media organizations to jointly contribute to the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and the realization of human rights. The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders grants such associations the right to seek, receive and use resources (including funding from foreign sources) to carry out their activities. At the same time, states are obliged to create a supportive environment in which human rights defenders will have the opportunity to act free of obstacles.
In relation to the freedom of assembly, association and expression, as well as the right to privacy, a similar arrangement reflected in the Russian and Hungarian legislation was evaluated negatively by: European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union, OSCE/ODIHR Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the Venice Commission and the UN Special Rapporteur.
In particular, according to the assessment of the OSCE/Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Office, human rights defenders often become addressees of stigmatization and discrediting campaigns, which, among other things, can be expressed in the adoption of legal regulations to declare them as "foreign agents" in the respective countries. According to international organizations, defining the status of organizations in this way creates an atmosphere of distrust, fear and hostility towards them.
According to the Venice Commission, the mentioned term brings back the rhetoric used in the communist period, stigmatizes civil society, damages their reputation and seriously hinders their activities.
According to the Council of Europe human rights commissioner, taking into account the historical context, “foreign agent” can be associated with “foreign spy” and “traitor”, which will complicate the cooperation of society and especially government officials with such persons and, as a result, their involvement in political life.
According to the European Court of Human Rights, use of this term is an unjustified interference with the freedom of association, insofar as it creates the impression that the relevant organizations are under foreign control.
It is also worth noting that, according to the Venice Commission's assessment, registration of organizations as agents without their consent is also a disproportionate interference in the freedom of association and expression, and this possibility should not be established by law.
Taking into account the Article 78 of Georgian Constitution, the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union is particularly noteworthy, by which it considered the legal arrangement similar to Hungary incompatible with the fundamental principles and law of the European Union.
Special attention should be paid to the fact that the presented draft law creates the basis for collecting and publication large amount of personal data on persons considered to be “agents of foreign influence” and in various relationships with them. In addition to potentially imposing an unjustified organizational burden on organizations and detracting from their core activities, it may infringe on the right to privacy by creating the possibility of processing and disclosing the personal data of any individual who is in any form of employment or service contractual relationship.
It should be noted that ensuring the transparency of the activities of unions is an important legitimate goal, and the relevant legal regulation for achieving this goal, as well as the tool for collecting, analyzing and reporting information on foreign aid (eAIMS) is unknown to Georgia. However, in order for the presented new draft law to be considered justified, it must be necessary based on the existence of “acute public want” and at the same time, the restrictive means and accompanying procedures must not be disproportionate, which the submitted draft law, according to the assessment of the Public Defender's Office, cannot satisfy.
Taking into account all of the above, the adoption of the presented draft law will not be in accordance with the standards of human rights protection”.
The members of the parliamentary majority (Sozar Subari, Dimitri Khundadze, Guram Macharashvili and others) who formally left Georgian Dream party, initiated the draft law “On transparency of foreign influence”.
According People’s Power and Georgian Dream members, the draft law was created mainly according to the relevant legislation in the United States of America, although the spokesman of the US State Department, Ned Price said that it is based on similar Russian and Hungarian legislation and not on any American law. According to Price, proposed law would stigmatize and silence independent voices and citizens of Georgia and such a law could potentially undermine Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration
The leader of the parliamentary majority, Irakli Kobakhidze, says that he does not see a problem in the draft law.
