ODIHR Urgent Opinion on GD’s Controversial Legislative Changes

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in its Urgent Opinion dated March 6, said that the recent legislative amendments adopted by the Georgian Dream fail to comply with Georgia’s obligations under international human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The Opinion was issued at the request of the Public Defender of Georgia on amendments to the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations, the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of Georgia. The amendments, which were submitted to the Parliament of the GD on 3 February and promulgated by the President of the GD on 6 February, were adopted through an accelerated procedure without an and inclusive consultation process, as noted in the Opinion.

“Such important amendments should have been subjected to inclusive, extensive and effective consultations, including with civil society, and ensuring the involvement of interested parties from various, diverse groups representing different and opposing views,” reads the review.

The amendments among other measures significantly increased the fines for administrative offenses such as petty hooliganism, verbal insults, swearing and other “offensive acts” against a police officer during the performance of his official duties; increased the period of administrative detention from 15 to 60 days; and criminalized the threat of attack or violence against political authority, state authority, and public officials. The amendments also imposed hefty fines for covering one’s face with a mask or any other means during a protest, road blockages or using pyrotechnics.

The Urgent Opinion stresses that states have a positive obligation to respect, protect and facilitate the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, “as one of the foundations of a democratic, tolerant and pluralist society.”

The Opinion further notes that several of these amendments raise serious concerns about their compliance with international human rights standards, particularly Article 21 [The right of peaceful assembly] of ICCPR and Article 11 [Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests] of the ECHR.”

The review also says that some of these new legislative provisions, including the requirement of immediate notification for spontaneous assemblies, general prohibition of holding assemblies inside closed spaces or buildings without the owner’s prior written agreement, the prohibition to erect temporary structures or blanket prohibition to cover one’s face with masks or by other means, as well as severe administrative or criminal sanctions, should be removed or reconsidered entirely.

The opinion calls for re-assessing or more carefully and narrowly circumscribing proposed grounds for prohibiting assemblies to ensure that they are “clearly defined as well as strictly necessary and proportionate and do not unduly impact the exercise of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.”

In addition, the Opinion states that a “disproportionate penalty can also be in itself sufficient to constitute a violation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.”

The review calls to repeal the imposition of administrative detention contemplated by the Amendments as a sanction in case of violation of the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations.

In addition, the Opinion says the amount of the fines imposed for administrative offenses for violations of the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations “should be substantially reduced”, especially with respect to minor violations, to ensure they don’t create a chilling effect and are proportionate to the harms being prosecuted.

The opinion concludes that many provisions of Georgia’s new laws fail to meet the strict tests of legality, necessity, and proportionality required by international human rights instruments. ODIHR calls on Georgian authorities to repeal or substantially revise the amendments to ensure the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms.

Key ODIHR Recommendations:

• Clarify and narrowly define the term “organizer” in the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations. The current definition—referring to “any person who leads or otherwise organizes the event”—is overly broad and risks arbitrary interpretation.
• “Remove any obligations for “organizers” or “responsible persons” that are incumbent upon the authorities, such as the provision of medical assistance, the maintenance of public safety, security and order, traffic management, or the prevention of crime.” It also recommends removing any liability of “organizers” for the behaviors of others.
• Repeal the notification requirement for spontaneous assemblies, or at least reduce it to a simple notification process. ODIHR stresses that failing to notify authorities should not be grounds for sanctions, dispersal, arrest, or the use of force.
• Remove the general prohibition of holding assemblies inside closed spaces or buildings without the owner’s prior written consent, particularly when those spaces are ordinarily open to the public. A case-by-case assessment should replace the blanket ban.
• Reconsider the outright ban on erecting temporary structures during assemblies. ODIHR recommends individualized assessments balancing competing rights and interests.
• Reconsider and replace the blanket ban on covering one’s face during assemblies, including masks or other means. Prohibitions should be limited to specific circumstances, such as imminent threats of serious violence or when necessary to identify individuals suspected of committing crimes.
• Remove prohibitions on assemblies that promote “affiliation with neither biological sex, affiliation with a gender different from one’s biological sex, sexual relationships between persons of the same biological sex, or incest.” ODIHR finds these provisions, introduced through Georgia’s controversial Law on Family Values and the Protection of Minors, discriminatory and incompatible with international standards.
• Repeal administrative detention as a sanction for violations of the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations, which “may have a chilling effect more broadly on the exercise
  of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.”
• Review and substantially reduce fines for administrative offenses related to assemblies, particularly for minor violations. The current penalties are considered disproportionate and likely to discourage peaceful participation in assemblies.
• Ensure that decisions regarding administrative detention and high-level fines are made solely by a court of law.

Similarly to ODIHR, the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission said in its report published on March 3 that the amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses and Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations of Georgia need to be revisited and reviewed in a proper law-making process. The Commission also stressed they “contain a number of vague and broadly framed provisions, granting the authorities excessively broad discretion in their application” and that the lack of clarity in the legal framework “increases the risk of abuse.”

Also Read:

• 03/03/2025 – Venice Commission Urgent Opinion on Code of Administrative Offenses and Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations
• 03/02/2025 – GD Announces More Repressive Legislative Changes
• 30/12/2024 – GD Elected President Kavelashvili Signs Into Law Repressive Legislation
• 17/12/2024 – Explainer | Facing Resistance, Georgian Dream Rushes in Repressive Laws
  

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