On February 1, 2018, the Public Defender of Georgia filed amicus curiae briefregarding alleged discrimination on groundsof sexual orientation with Tbilisi City Court.

The applicant, whose interests are presented in the court by the Women's Initiatives Supportive Group (WISG), indicated that the applicant was not allowed to enter karaoke bars due to the sexual orientation.

In the amicus curiae brief, the Public Defender, on the basis of reviewing the EU directives on equality, emphasized the access to services, as the right enshrined in the Georgian legislation. At the same time, on the basis of the standards established by the Constitutional Court of Georgia and international institutions, the Public Defender presented a test for identification of discrimination committed during the provision of goods or services and discussed the issue of distribution of the burden of proof between the parties in the discrimination-related cases.

The Public Defender noted that it is important the sexual orientation of a person not to lead to biased attitudes, service providers not to have preliminarily homophobic attitude and decisions on service delivery not to be based on the discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. Considering this, it is important to take into consideration that the LGBT+ community is one of the most vulnerable groups in Georgia, the members of which are discriminated in almost all areas of public life.