Constitutional Court of Georgia accepts Zurabishvili's lawsuit against the law on "foreign agents"

The relevant information was disseminated by the press service of the Constitutional Court, according to News Georgia, Ukrinform reports. 

The registration of the lawsuit is a prerequisite for the case to be sent to the Constitutional Court plenary session. 

The defendant in the case will be the parliament.

According to Zurabishvili, the law, in particular, contradicts Article 78 of the Constitution of Georgia, according to which all branches of government within their competence must do everything possible to integrate the country into the EU and NATO.

The case of the bill is unprecedented for two reasons, the newspaper writes. First, the President of Georgia has never appealed to the Constitutional Court. Secondly, there have been no complaints about the article on European integration. This entry in the country's basic law was introduced only in 2017.

Earlier, the media reported that if the court finds the claim admissible, the applicants may file a motion to suspend the law until a final decision is made. 

As reported by Ukrinform, on 15 July, Salome Zurabishvili filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court demanding to suspend and finally repeal the law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence".

As Ukrinform reported, she was followed by more than 120 Georgian NGOs who filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court demanding the repeal of the law. There has been no word on its acceptance for consideration. 

Despite calls from international partners, on 28 May, the Georgian parliament overrode the president's veto of the law, officially titled "On Transparency of Foreign Influence". The law provides for the creation of a special register and declares non-governmental and media organisations that receive foreign grants to be carriers of foreign influence.