Georgian Parliament adopts new foreign agent law, echoing US FARA

The Georgian Parliament has officially passed the highly debated "foreign agent" bill in its final reading, a law which its authors describe as an analogue to the United States’ Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

This legislation, approved by 86 Members of Parliament (MPs), introduces significant new measures targeting organizations and individuals receiving foreign financial assistance while evading registration, Caliber.Az reports per Russian media.

The new law, which replaces the previous “on transparency of foreign influence” law, is a response to concerns over foreign influence and aims to increase transparency in how non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and media outlets in Georgia operate.

A key provision of the law stipulates criminal prosecution for those who refuse to register with the Ministry of Justice of Georgia. According to Archil Gorduladze, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Issues and one of the authors of the law, this criminal provision is intended as a preventive measure, ensuring that organizations receiving foreign funds disclose the origins of those funds and their intended use.

"The article in the new law on criminal prosecution will be a preventive measure for organizations evading registration, and they will have to explain to the public where millions of dollars of funds come from and what they are spent on," Gorduladze stated.

The legislation has sparked controversy, particularly among the country’s largest NGOs, many of which have received funds from US and European foundations. Several organizations, in response to the new law, have chosen to re-register abroad in countries like Estonia, attempting to avoid the requirements of Georgian legislation.

The Georgian Dream party, which initiated the legislation, has claimed that a significant number of NGOs—136 out of roughly 600—refused to register under the previous law. Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili revealed that these organizations, which receive foreign funding, have opted to avoid compliance with Georgian regulations, with some even seeking to establish themselves in foreign jurisdictions.

This new law builds on the “on transparency of foreign influence” law that came into effect on August 1, 2024, requiring NGOs and media outlets that receive over 20 per cent of their funding from abroad to register with the National Agency for Public Registry. The law has faced significant opposition both domestically and internationally, with protests from opposition groups in Georgia and harsh criticism from the United States and the European Union, which even led to a temporary halt in financial assistance to Georgia.

The bill is expected to enter into force after being signed by President Mikheil Kavelashvili and published on the Parliament’s official website.  

By Vafa Guliyeva