OSCE/ODIHR assessments on controversial foreign transparency bill “negative” – Ombudsman’s Office

The Office of the Georgian Public Defender on Wednesday said the legal assessments by OSCE/ODIHR on a controversial foreign transparency bill proposed and later rejected by the ruling Georgian Dream party earlier this year due to mass protests, were “negative”. 

The Ombudsman’s Office, which requested the opinion on two bills proposed by the lawmakers of the GD in February and March, said the opinion had pointed to possible negative impact on the rights of assembly, expression, privacy, participation in public affairs and freedom from discrimination, if adopted. 

The conclusion also reviewed the US and Australian legislation and stressed they were “fundamentally different” compared to the specific Georgian bills, with “completely different goals and scales”. 

The Georgian bills called for registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “agents of foreign influence” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad, with domestic NGOs and the international community calling it a “Russian law” which could restrict organizations critical to the Government if approved. 

Despite rejecting the initial bill following large protests in Tbilisi – with demonstrators accusing the Government of “hampering” the country’s European integration – the Government representatives still point to the potential “positive role” of the bill if adopted and accuse foreign diplomats of “misleading the public” over the legal piece.