Tbilisi: The Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO )and Civil Society Organization (CSO )of Georgia vowed to continue the legal fight against the controversial foreign agent law. They announced that they would file a lawsuit in the constitutional court against the law to repeal it immediately to protect the independent voices of media and civil organizations as well.
While taking to their official social media handle a prominent NGO “Rights Georgia ” revealed the proposed move. As per the available information almost 121 Georgian non-governmental and media organizations are continuing their legal battle against Russian law. Now they have decided to file an appeal to the Constitutional Court.
They will demand the temporary suspension of the foreign agent law until the competent court makes a final decision. This will mitigate the law’s negative effects before the final decision.
The filing of the lawsuit against the foreign agent law proved that the law was illegal and aimed to violate the legal rights of individuals and organisations to unite. Moreover the Government while adopting Russian law created a very hostile and degrading environment. The government also misused the machinery to threaten the enjoyment of association, expression and other rights and freedoms to which people are entitled.
While commenting on the latest development the representative of the NGO Rights Georgia stated “We welcome the decision of the President of Georgia and parliamentarians to file an appeal against Russian law under Article 78 of the Constitution. The freedom of the press and civil society organizations is the main cornerstone of Georgia’s membership in Euro-Atlantic structures.
It added “We hope that the Constitutional Court will exercise its authority as soon as possible and suspend the operation of the relevant norms of the law. In addition we would like to inform you that we are preparing a complaint to be submitted to the European Court of Human Rights.”
The NGO reiterated its earlier stance that it will not live by the rules of Russian law and will use all possible domestic and international mechanisms to hinder its operation until the law is unconditionally repealed.
