Georgia awaits a historic ruling from the Constitutional Court on the "foreign agents" law

Georgia’s Constitutional Court on the “foreign agents” law

The exact timing of the Georgian Constitutional Court’s ruling on the “foreign agents” law remains unknown. Both sides expect it could happen today, September 2.

On August 31, after three days of debates, the Constitutional Court concluded its hearings on the “foreign agents” law, often referred to as the “Russian law” by the public.

The media have called this case a historic precedent.

Georgian Constitutional Court begins review of lawsuits challenging "foreign agents" law

Four lawsuits have been filed against the “foreign agents” law, one of which has been submitted by the President of Georgia

The President of Georgia, along with over 100 NGOs, media outlets, and opposition MPs, have filed four separate lawsuits with the Constitutional Court. All of them demand the repeal of the law that has stalled Georgia’s integration into the European Union.

Based on these four lawsuits, the Constitutional Court must address two key questions:

• Will it initiate a substantive review of whether the “foreign agents” law is unconstitutional? In other words, does the law align with Georgia’s constitution?
• And if the review proceeds, will the enforcement of this law be temporarily suspended until the review is complete?

The lawsuits against the “foreign agents” law were reviewed by a plenary session of eight Constitutional Court judges. Decisions are made by a majority vote, requiring at least five votes.

One of the most recent politically sensitive issues considered by the court in the same composition was the impeachment case against Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili. Six out of nine judges ruled that the president had violated the constitution.