Council of Europe Rights Commissioner to Intervene in Georgia's FARA Case at ECHR
By Messenger Staff
Monday, July 13, 2026
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights applied on July 3 to intervene as a third party in the case challenging Georgia's Foreign Agents Registration Act at the European Court of Human Rights. The Strasbourg Court granted the request and notified the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, which brought the case.
GYLA filed the complaint in 2025 on behalf of six applicants, three organizations and their leading individuals, arguing the law, known as Georgian FARA, is being used to restrict civil society and media. GYLA says the law's real aim is to silence, discredit and prosecute independent organizations and outlets, including through criminal liability.
The Commissioner has previously weighed in on a similar case involving Russian legislation. In submissions to that case, the Commissioner addressed not just Georgia's Foreign Influence Transparency Act but also FARA, noting both laws require civil society groups to register as "foreign interest organizations" or "agents of a foreign principal." The Commissioner has said this undermines human rights defenders' ability to exercise freedom of expression and association, particularly when paired with government and pro-government campaigns branding these groups as enemies of the state and using their funding sources to question their impartiality.
On February 2, 2026, the Commissioner issued a statement condemning amendments to Georgia's Law on Grants introduced that year, again calling on authorities to drop legal mechanisms restricting civil society groups' work.
The European Court has given the Commissioner until August 31, 2026, to submit its position. GYLA said it would continue its litigation against restrictive civil society laws and provide updates as the case progresses.
