Georgian Dream plans amendments to freedom of speech law

Amendments to Georgia’s freedom of speech law

The ruling Georgian Dream party has submitted a draft bill to parliament introducing major amendments to the Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression. The proposed changes focus on the definition of defamation and related court procedures.

Under the new bill, defamation is defined as “a statement containing a substantially false fact that damages a person’s reputation.” The current law requires such a statement to cause actual harm to the individual — a provision that is removed in the revised version.

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Key protections to be removed

Several articles currently safeguarding freedom of speech, privacy, and professional confidentiality will be repealed. Among them is a provision stating that a defendant’s refusal to disclose a source or professional secret in a freedom of expression case cannot serve as the sole basis for a ruling against them — this protection is set to be scrapped.

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Burden of proof to shift under new defamation rules

Under the proposed amendments, the burden of proof in defamation cases will shift to the defendant. If a claim is brought against a citizen or public figure, they will be required to prove that their statement did not contain false facts.

However, if the defendant can demonstrate that they acted in good faith — meaning they verified the information before making the statement and were unaware it was false — they will be exempt from liability.

Journalist protections to be repealed

The law will abolish a key article that protected journalists and others from defamation charges if they acted in good faith, served the public interest, or were responding to public accusations.

Damages to become more severe

If a court finds that the harm caused by defamation cannot be remedied through a retraction or apology, the defendant may be ordered to pay financial compensation — covering both material and moral damages.

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