GYLA asks Constitutional Court to block grants monitoring powers, says law undermines freedom of association
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, October 2, 2025
The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) has filed a fresh constitutional complaint challenging the law on grants, arguing that the measure hands the Anti-Corruption Bureau sweeping powers to monitor civil society and threatens basic constitutional rights. The group said the Bureau launched large-scale monitoring in September that now covers more than 60 organisations.
GYLA's complaint focuses on the contested provision in the amended law, Article 6¹, which the association says allows the Anti-Corruption Bureau, with court approval, to demand "special category and other personal data, as well as any confidential information, except for state secrets" from NGOs, banks and state institutions. The association added that the Bureau has in practice set a three-day deadline for organisations to produce large volumes of material. "The monitoring process has been launched en masse, and as of today, it is ongoing against more than 60 organizations," GYLA said in a statement.
GYLA warned that the law contains no clear statutory timetable for compliance once the Bureau secures a court order, a gap that it says permits the Bureau to impose "unreasonably short terms, creating additional barriers for organizations that are incompatible with the provisions of the constitution." The group argues these procedures make practical compliance impossible for many organisations and place undue burdens on civil society.
In its filing, GYLA contends the disputed norms violate freedom of association and administrative due process. The association says the provisions are incompatible with Article 22(1) of the Constitution, which protects freedom of association, and that the imposition of compressed deadlines breaches the right to a fair hearing before an administrative body under Article 18(1).
This is GYLA's second constitutional challenge to the grants law. The first suit, filed on August 18, 2025, asked the court to strike down sections of the law and a related government ordinance that require state approval for the provision and receipt of foreign grants. GYLA said those earlier measures "constitute a serious interference with the freedom of association" and undermine NGOs' autonomy to determine their objectives and activities.
GYLA has asked the Constitutional Court to suspend the operation of the monitoring provisions while the case is pending and to convene a preliminary hearing without delay. "We urge the Constitutional Court to fulfill its functions and in a timely manner convene a preliminary hearing to suspend the operation of the challenged norms," the organisation said.
The lawsuit arrives against a backdrop of prior court orders and probe activity. Human rights groups have pointed to earlier rulings that let the Anti-Corruption Bureau demand broad documentary and personal data from NGOs, and to recent letters and court applications seeking extensive donor and beneficiary information from dozens of organisations. Critics say those steps, together with the grants law, have been used to intensify scrutiny of independent civil society groups.
International and local rights monitors have warned that the combined legal and administrative measures risk chilling independent civic activity and curbing oversight of public authorities. GYLA and allied organisations argue that, beyond the immediate legal questions, the law's implementation amounts to structural interference with civic space that requires urgent judicial review.
The Constitutional Court has not yet set a date for a preliminary hearing. GYLA said it will press for a prompt schedule and reiterated its request that the court suspend the monitoring provisions while the challenge proceeds.
