Georgian authorities criticize Venice Commission’s opinion

Member of the parliamentary majority from the ruling Georgian Dream party Salome Kurasbediani claimed that the Venice Commission's opinion on the foreign agents bill “once again confirmed” that there were “no legal arguments” against the transparency law.

Kurasbediani responded to the Commission’s opinion, which “strongly recommends” the Georgian Government repealing the foreign agents bill.

"In the Venice Commission’s conclusion, we find a lot of unsubstantiated and contradictory arguments, as well as some gross distortion of facts. [...] Thus, it is disappointing that the platform of the Commission has been used to make biassed political assessments instead of professional reasoning, which damages the reputation of the Commission again”, Kurasbediani said.

She denounced the Commission’s political evaluation of the street protests in Georgia against the bill, adding that this approach “clearly shows its so-called impartiality, which, as a rule, leaves no space for legal analysis of the subsequent parts of the said Commission’s report”.

"The current norms in Georgian legislation do not ensure an obligation for non-governmental organisations to fill financial declarations or the transparency of their finances," Kurasbediani explained in response to the Commission’s appeals stating that the current legislation in the country “already contains provisions requiring“ NGOs to register their finances and submit reports.

Member of the Georgian Dream party criticised the Commission's stance that transparency requirements for NGOs and media are “undemocratic”, arguing that this undermined the institution's credibility and the values it represents.