Georgian Dream’s parliament is adopting a law through an expedited procedure that further restricts the right to protest. Under the amendments, it is prohibited to artificially block pedestrian areas. Moreover, it is required to notify the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) in advance if a rally takes place in a location where people move. Failure to comply with the tightened requirements of the law will result in administrative imprisonment.
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The current Law of Georgia on Assemblies and Demonstrations considers the necessity of submitting advance notice to an executive body of a local self-government if an assembly or demonstration is to be held on a traffic roadway or obstructs traffic.
The new amendments will require prior notification to the Ministry of Internal Affairs if assemblies or demonstrations take place in a location where people or transport passes, or if they obstruct the movement of transport or pedestrians.
According to the venue for the assembly or demonstration, it will be mandatory to submit advance notice to the Patrol Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (rather than to an executive body of local self-government).
The notice must be submitted to the Patrol Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs no later than 5 days before the organising and holding of each assembly or manifestation. In the case of a spontaneous assembly/demonstration, “the application must be submitted immediately, within a reasonable period of time, after the person responsible for the organisation and holding of the assembly or demonstration becomes aware of the information about the organisation/holding of the spontaneous assembly/demonstration.” In such a case, the Ministry of Internal Affairs may determine a different form and procedure for submitting a warning.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs will be obliged to publicly announce the notice within a reasonable timeframe, as well as the proposed alternative time and/or location or route for a non-spontaneous assembly or demonstration, if the Ministry has decided to offer such an alternative.
According to the draft law, the Ministry is authorised, within 3 days of receiving the notice or in the event of a spontaneous assembly or demonstration, to consider on-site whether to change the place and/or time, route, and to issue a mandatory instruction if the assembly or demonstration poses a real threat to public safety, public order, the normal functioning of enterprises, institutions and organisations, the unhindered movement of vehicles and people, or human rights and freedoms.
A mandatory order may specify an alternative time and/or place for the assembly or demonstration, as well as an alternative route. An order can be appealed in court; however, this does not suspend its validity.
If demonstrators partially or entirely block transport or pedestrian areas, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be authorised to decide on the opening of the transport or pedestrian areas and/or the restoration of movement, provided that the assembly or manifestation can otherwise be held, taking into account the number of participants.
According to the draft law, it is prohibited to artificially block transport routes or pedestrian areas unless the number of participants in the assembly or demonstration requires it. It is also forbidden to obstruct the roadway with vehicles, structures, or objects.
In the event of a massive obstruction of transport or pedestrian areas in violation of these rules, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will warn demonstrators that if the transport or pedestrian area is not cleared within the next 15 minutes, the entire assembly will be considered unlawful, a decision will be made to terminate it, and “measures provided for by international law and the legislation of Georgia may be used.”
Nevertheless, giving a demonstrator 15 minutes “does not mean that if that participant stops violating the law during those 15 minutes, they have not committed that violation.”
Violation of the law will result in administrative detention for up to 15 days, with the confiscation of the item involved in the offence. If the offender is the organiser, detention may last up to 20 days with confiscation of the item. If the offender is a pregnant woman, a mother of a child under 12, a minor, or a person with a pronounced or significantly expressed disability, a fine of 5,000 GEL will be imposed. If the offender in the same case is the organiser, the fine increases to 15,000 GEL
