Georgian Dream Accuses Venice Commission of Biased Political Assessments and Inaccuracies
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Georgian Dream MP Salome Kurasbediani accused the Venice Commission of using its platform to make biased political assessments instead of providing professional reasoning, stating that this "damages the reputation of the Venice Commission". She made these remarks at a briefing held at the central office of Georgian Dream in response to the Venice Commission's 24-page detailed conclusion on the "Transparency of Foreign Influence" bill, which urged the Georgian government to repeal the law.
Kurasbediani stated that the Venice Commission's conclusion contains false factual information, particularly regarding the publication timing of the final text of the law. She stated that the final text was announced and published immediately during the Parliament's plenary session.
Georgian Dream MP accused the Venice Commission of presenting a biased assessment and stated that there are documented incidents of violence against police. She also criticized the Commission for shifting from legal analysis to political evaluation. Kurasbediani argued that the Venice Commission incorrectly claimed that current Georgian legislation already ensures NGO financial transparency. She asserted that existing norms do not mandate comprehensive financial declarations from NGOs.
Kurasbediani accused the Venice Commission for portraying the concept of transparency for NGOs and media in a negative and undemocratic light. She believes that this portrayal is incorrect and harms the credibility of the Venice Commission, as well as its fundamental values.
Additionally, she criticized the Commission for mentioning similarities between the Georgian law on transparency and laws from Russia, Hungary, and Kyrgyzstan, but only dedicating three lines to this issue without further legal reasoning.
"The conclusion of the Venice Commission, as I have already mentioned, is full of political messages, lacks legal and professional justification, and contains several factual inaccuracies.
In the end, they even stated that the transparency of NGOs and media is bad and undemocratic. Obviously, all this undermines the credibility of this institution and the values it is supposed to serve.
The paradoxical position of the Venice Commission - that information about the financial income and expenses of NGOs should be hidden from the public - is saddening and disappointing," Kurasbediani said.
According to her, "the conclusion of the Venice Commission confirmed once again that there are no legal or other arguments against the Georgian law on transparency."
