In an ‘Urgent Opinion’ requested by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and issued on Monday 3 March, the Venice Commission calls on Georgian authorities to re-examine amendments to the Code of administrative offences and the Law on assemblies and demonstrations.
The Council of Europe’s constitutional law experts note that their adoption was rushed through without any consultation of the parties involved, and that this undermines their legitimacy, “particularly considering the broader political context of mass political rallies”.
In addition, the Venice Commission points to a number of vague provisions formulated in general terms, which grant the authorities “excessively broad discretion in their application” and increase the risk of abuse in terms of infringing fundamental freedoms such as the freedoms of assembly and expression.
This is all the more so because the new custodial sentences and increased fines “appear excessive”.
The review of this new legislation requested by the Venice Commission is accompanied by a series of recommendations relating to an impact assessment, a review of sanctions and the introduction of effective remedies.
The Commission also requests that the conditions for banning laser and beam devices and the wearing of masks during gatherings be clarified.
It is also calling for a statutory procedure for the notification of assemblies once they have begun.
Link to Urgent Opinion:https://aeur.eu/f/fpx (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)