The legal battle against the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, often referred to as the 'Russian Law,' continues in the Constitutional Court. After the law was adopted, discussions about filing a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court became more active among political circles and civil society. On May 30, Georgian civil society organizations announced that they were preparing a constitutional lawsuit to be submitted to the court. Finally, in July, three different lawsuits were filed with the court. The first was President Salome Zourabichvili’s lawsuit, submitted on July 15. This was followed by a general lawsuit from civil society organizations, announced on July 17, and a joint lawsuit signed by 38 opposition MPs. In the lawsuit submitted by the President, which the court has accepted, it is argued that the law is unconstitutional and in violation of Article 78 of the Georgian Constitution. The lawsuit also challenges a number of norms of the law that infringe upon fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Through this action, the President is seeking both a suspension of the law and its ultimate repeal. The President's lawsuit is precedential because: It marks the first instance in which the President has brought a case before the Constitutional Court. To date, the Constitutional Court has not yet adjudicated a case concerning the violation of Article 78 of the Constitution, which pertains to integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures. On the other hand, the lawsuits brought by civil society and media organizations highlight that the law infringes upon the right of individuals to associate with like-minded people to engage in beneficial activities and assist others. These lawsuits argue that by enacting the Russian law, the government is fostering a hostile and demeaning environment, thereby threatening the exercise of rights and freedoms related to association, expression, and other fundamental liberties. Civil society and media organizations, in conjunction with their lawsuit, are also calling for a temporary suspension of the implementation of the unconstitutional norms of the law until the court reaches a final decision. The lawsuit filed by the opposition MPs became known on July 29. The deputies are requesting the Constitutional Court to analyze the Law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" in relation to Articles 22 (freedom of association) and 78 (integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures) of the Constitution and to annul it. They also request that the court implement a temporary mechanism to suspend the enforcement of the law until a final decision is reached. Under the legislation, the review period for a constitutional claim or submission should not exceed 9 months, beginning from the date the claim or submission is registered with the Constitutional Court. Additionally, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court may extend this period by up to 2 months in special cases. It's important to note that the expiration of this period does not automatically result in a court decision on the claim or submission, as the law does not specify a deadline for the court to issue a final decision.

Mariam Svimonishvili, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Human Rights’ Program Director speaks about the freedom of expression and assembly which remain a problem in Georgia (GEO).

There is still an ingrained tradition of inheriting the real estate in Georgia, which favors men and leaves many women in the open, while the constitution and legislation provide for equal rights. More (GEO)

"The self is the only one who can both fly up and down." Listen to the story of fencer Irma Khetsuriani. More (GEO)

There are many stereotypes about people with disabilities in Georgia today, which prevents them from living a full life.  "Often their area of employment is strictly defined by society and does not allow these people to self-realize and prosper."  Listen to a podcast about people with hearing impairments. More (GEO)

Have you ever wondered why the victim of violence is silent? It is better to listen to someone before making a meaningless phrase. More (GEO)

Before giving up the vaccine, think about what information you have. Do not trust inaccurate and misleading information, learn more about vaccines. More (GEO)

The main problem for people with disabilities remains a non-adapted environment. Their employment rate deteriorates in accordance with the severity of the status. For each person, the obstacle mostly starts from the door of their own house and it seems as if they are doomed to house arrest because it is practically impossible for them to move independently. People go unnoticed and often get discriminated by society or the state.  More (GEO)

Save the Children, an international non-governmental organization founded in 1919 and implementing programs in 120 countries around the world, started its activities in Georgia since 1993. During these 28 years, the organization has been actively working on issues related to child protection, education, family and community empowerment, inclusive education, early childhood development, disaster risk reduction, youth skills development, child participation, IDP assistance, and empowerment of girls and women. With the help of Save the Children, there have been developed and introduced approaches, services, assessment tools, guidance documents and legislative changes, which serve as the basis for child wellbeing in many ways today. However, child protection in Georgia still faces a number of challenges in terms of a lot of aspect See more (geo)…

Loud cry out “The light is back!” has a special meaning for Georgia that passed the 90s. Since 2015, these words have acquired different meanings – there has been developed a project with this name, which aims to introduce people with disabilities, living in our country, to the public, as well as to retell their stories. Authors of the project hope that by looking closely at the lives of these people we will have answers to more questions, better understand their needs and be collectively able to say: “The light is back” - now we see better! Today, you can read 176 stories from 11 regions of Georgia on the website of the project, visit these people, look them into the eyes... You really can, just like you would do it at a face-to-face meeting because photos for this project are taken by Natela Grigalashvili. Authors of the project state that the success of the stories they retell is mostly due to these photos. Natela, however, says it just briefly that she joined this activity with great pleasure. She is like that, she does not like to talk much and expresses herself with things she does and photos she takes. She chose photography years ago to express her position, what she wanted to say. Prior to that, she studied at an art school, worked as an artist-decorator in a theater. As a photographer she started to work at the “Dvrita” newspaper, then she worked at other magazines and newspapers too. Currently, she is an independent photographer, projects, within the framework of which she takes photos, touches upon social themes - religious and ethnic minorities, women, the life of humans, and are always designed for regions. Georgian village and its life is a place where muses of Natela Grigalashvili live. Natela now shares her knowledge and experience with students of several universities, there have been held a number of exhibitions with her participation, she even made several personal exhibitions. No matter what she does, she always spares time to go to a village road and take photos. As she says, support from various foundations and organizations also helps her implement her ideas. More specifically that from the Open Society Georgia Foundation, Atinati Foundation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, etc. She introduced Dukhobors, IDPs, and others to the public together with them. One of the similar projects is “Rural Photo Clubs”. “I grew up in a village and I have never lost links with it, I am well aware of problems that exist in villages and regions. This is how I came up with an idea to help them, teach them photography so as to let them discover another world around them, find the extraordinary in the ordinary, enjoy photography as an art”, - says Natela, - “I think this is a successful project because they write to me from a lot of villages, regions and request to implement this project there”. The first club was established in Gorelovka. The duration of the project was ten months and every month Natela lived in Gorelovka for 10 days. She taught photography to 15 people of different ethnicities from 15 to 62 years of age, the first exhibition was held at the House of Culture also in Gorelovka, the second - in Tbilisi, while the third - in Batumi. Apart from Gorelovka, photo clubs were established in the Pankisi Valley and high mountainous Adjara. These projects were funded by the Open Society Georgia Foundation, the Fund of the President, and the Ministry of Culture. However, Natela Grigalashvili works on projects even without funding. "Currently, there are several projects like these”, - says Natela, - “I take photos of how people live in high mountainous Adjara, it is where different lifestyle is preserved the most of all, traditions and customs are maintained, however, at the same time, changes take place rapidly. Another project is about young people - while traveling in regions, I shoot photos of how they live there, what they are happy about, what they are worried about, what their hopes or despairs are. This is an observation of people who are supposed to change the reality and provide their input to the creation of a better future for the country”.

Public Movement “Multinational Georgia” is one of the first non-governmental organizations that unites representatives of 19 ethnic minority communities and 56 non-governmental organizations. The organization actively works in the education, elections, and advocacy fields. Watch the video and learn more about the activities of the organization... More (GEO)

The Coalition for Independent Living implements projects that help people with disabilities to build a full life. Get acquainted with its activities in our video.  More (GEO)