The European Court of Human Rights has communicated the joint application lodged by Transparency International Georgia, the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the Rule of Law Centre, Publika, Georgia’s European Orbit, the Civil Movement for Freedom, Eka Gigauri, Nino Evgenidze, and Nino Lomjaria. The application was submitted to the Court in Strasbourg on 16 July 2025.

Similarly, the Court has also communicated comparable applications lodged by an additional 17 organizations and individuals. Earlier, the Court initiated the same procedure in relation to an application filed by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and others.

The communication stage signifies that the Court has commenced an in-depth examination of both the admissibility and the merits of the applications. The Ministry of Justice of the Ivanishvili regime has been given until 15 October 2026 to submit its observations on the applications and to answer the Court’s questions. The applicants will subsequently be afforded an opportunity to reply to the Government’s submissions.

The applicants challenge the repressive legislation adopted by the Ivanishvili regime in April 2025—namely, the so-called “FARA” law and the amendments to the Law on Grants—which have already inflicted substantial harm on civil society and have become one of the regime’s principal mechanisms for distancing Georgia from the democratic world.

The Court has requested the regime’s Ministry of Justice to answer a series of questions concerning the compatibility of these draconian laws, and the repressive measures flowing from them, with the rights guaranteed under the European Convention on Human Rights. These include the right to respect for private life, freedom of expression, freedom of association, and—of particular importance—the prohibition on the misuse of restrictions for purposes not prescribed by the Convention, including for political purposes.

This development represents a significant achievement for Georgia’s civil society and for all those committed to freedom of thought. It will, however, require sustained and intensive efforts to transform this interim success into a final victory—one that will expose before the international community the anti-democratic and inhumane nature of the Ivanishvili Parliament and other state institutions operating under the regime.