On October 18, 2023, the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia applied to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in writing and asked to prepare a legal opinion on the amendments planned to be made to the Law of Georgia on Assemblies and Demonstrations.

In the letter send to OSCE/ODIHR, the Public Defender of Georgia points out that the draft amendments represent an intense interference with the freedom of expression/assembly and restrict the expression of opinion by using temporary constructions (for example, a tent).

Such an intense restriction of freedom of expression can be justified in a democratic society only by the need to protect an important, weighty interest, which cannot be identified in the draft amendments.

The Public Defender released a statement on October 4, 2023 regarding the amendments planned to be made to the Law of Georgia on Assemblies and Demonstrations, where he discussed in detail the essence of the draft law and the damage that the amendments, if adopted, may do to the constitutional standard of the right to assembly and demonstration.