The President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, has vetoed a controversial “foreign agents” law, labeling it fundamentally as a piece of “Russian-style” legislation. This move has sparked widespread protests in the country. According to Zourabichvili, the law contradicts Georgia’s constitution and all European standards. She argued that, being fundamentally Russian in nature, it stands as an obstacle on Georgia’s path towards Europe.
The Georgian Parliament had adopted the law on May 14th, which proposed to designate civil society organizations that receive funding from abroad as “foreign agents”. Known as the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, it imposed a requirement on any organization in Georgia receiving 20% or more of its income from foreign sources to register as a foreign agent.
The legislative process has not been smooth. The adoption of the law by parliament stimulated criticism, with opponents viewing the legislation as a move to isolate Georgia from the rest of the world. This opinion was so widely held, it led to high profile resignations including that of Gotcha Javakhishvili, the current ambassador to France. The controversy provoked the cancellation of parliamentary sessions, and mass protests.
Internationally, human rights advocacy groups have expressed concerns, arguing that the law undermines civil society. Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Marie Struthers, has commented that the law “contravenes Georgia’s international obligations on the rights to freedom of expression and association and strikes at the heart of civil society’s ability to operate freely and effectively.”