On April 29, the Legal Affairs Committee of the parliament approved the Russian-style Foreign Agents Bill in the second hearing. During the session, the chairman of the committee, Anri Okhanashvili, used his authority to restrict questions and comments on the draft law from opposition members and representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs). Consequently, 17 members of the opposition and CSOs were expelled from the session.
Reactions:
During the committee session, Georgian CSOs issued a joint statement condemning Okhanashvili’s abuse of power and called on him to allow opposition and CSO representatives the opportunity to participate in the discussion:
“On April 29, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Georgian Parliament is conducting the second hearing of the Russian Law. The session carries a confrontational atmosphere from the majority side. The Committee Chair, Anri Okhanashvili, is currently denying opposition deputies and representatives of civil society organizations the opportunity to complete their questions and is expelling them from the session. As of now, the following deputies are being expelled from the session: Tamar Kordzaia, Salome Samadashvili, Giorgi Vashadze, Levan Bezhashvili, Tamar Charkviani, Ani Chitlidze, Levan Khabeishvili, and Ketevan Turashvili. The possibility of completing questions is also being denied to representatives of civil society organizations.
The committee chair is abusing authority and violating the rights of deputies guaranteed by the regulations of the Georgian Parliament—to oppose, ask critical questions, and receive answers. Expelling opposing individuals and not giving them the opportunity to finish their speech is against the principles of representative democracy. This action by Okhanashvili does not correspond to Article 224 of the Parliament’s regulations. The purpose of this norm is to ensure compliance with the rules of conduct in debates and does not allow the chairperson of the committee to restrict the right of members of Parliament to express opinions (including differing opinions).
Moreover, the Parliament’s regulations do not envision the exclusion of opinions alongside questions during the second hearing of a bill but rather mandate the committee hearing to ensure a comprehensive study of the issue, including listening to alternative opinions and discussions.
Additionally, Okhanashvili is unduly interfering with the rights of Parliament members to freely decide the content of questions and not allowing sufficient time for their presentation, thereby suppressing critical opinions and creating conditions for one-party discussions of ‘Russian law.’
We call on the chairperson of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament, in the highest interest of public opinion, to enable maximum engagement of those present in the session to ensure the opportunity for asking questions and expressing their opinions to the fullest extent.”