Kobakhidze criticizes OSCE/ODIHR assessment of foreign agents law

The analysis of Georgia’s foreign agent law by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHIR) is legally void, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.

"The OSCE ODIHR’s document has the same value as the Venice Commission’s one. This is a recommendation and we must take into account only those remarks that are based on legal documents. In this case, the ODIHR’s document is not based on any legal arguments," Irakli Kobakhidze said.

According to him, transparency is one of the most important European values and cannot be bad, hence, the document saying that transparency is bad cannot have any legal value.

This week, the OSCE ODIHR released its opinion about Georgia’s foreign agent law. According to ODIHR, the law has serious drawbacks making it incompatible with international human rights standards and the country’s commitments as an OSCE members.