Georgian Dream’s defamation bill to retroactively cover statements made 100 days before enactment
New details about Georgian Dream’s legislative amendments to defamation laws show that the legislative changes would allow the government to retroactively persecute people over statements or comments made 100 days before the bill’s enactment.
Legislative amendments that would limit several rights protected under the law on freedom of expression were introduced in parliament on 18 June. The authors, all of them ruling party MPs, sought to shift the burden of proof in cases of defamation and libel from the plaintiff to the defendant.
As a result, whereas up until now the plaintiff had to prove that they were defamed, under the new rules, it will be the defendant who must prove they did not defame the claimant.
The legislative amendments had already been widely covered by Georgian media when a new detail emerged during the first hearing on Wednesday. Georgian Dream MP Davit Matikashvili stated that the law would also apply to statements made within the 100 days before its enactment.
‘Let’s say, hypothetically, the law comes into force on 1 August. We have a 100-day statute of limitations from the time a statement is made. So if someone considers a statement made on 1 July to be defamatory […] and no lawsuit has been filed by then, once the law takes effect, a case can be filed under the new regulation’, he added.
The ruling party, pushing for an accelerated procedure, has already passed the amendments in their first reading.
https://oc-media.org/georgian-dream-to-enact-new-restrictions-on-freedom-of-speech/
In recent months, Georgian Dream has already passed other laws that restricted forms of expression that had not previously been punishable. One such law prohibited insulting officeholders, under which numerous politicians, journalists, and activists have been penalised and some even imprisoned.
In one of the latest cases, a woman was fined by a court for a Facebook comment in which she referred to a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs as a ‘bitch’.
‘Disrespecting judges’ outside court to be punishable
Alongside the law on freedom of expression, Georgian Dream has also proposed amendments to the law on courts. The changes covered a range of issues, including strict new limitations on journalists’ coverage of trials and an increase in judges’ salaries.
Another amendment would toughen the provision regulating contempt of court. Under the current law, punishable acts of contempt include those committed by parties to the case, participants, or others present in the courtroom.
Under the amendments initiated by the ruling party, such conduct would become punishable in any context, including outside the courtroom and in public spaces. The proposal also specifies that contempt will be punishable in ‘any form’, including ‘verbal’ expression.
Under the current legislation, contempt of court is a criminal offence punishable by a fine, community service, or up to one year of imprisonment. A separate provision regulates contempt towards a member or judge of the Constitutional Court and is punishable by a fine, community service, or up to years of imprisonment.
It is still unclear whether the court will enforce the law, when passed, only in physical spaces or if it will also cover online activities. Initially, enforcement of the administrative provision on insulting officeholders began with in-person incidents, but individuals were later also penalised for their social media activities.
https://oc-media.org/georgian-dream-to-restrict-media-coverage-of-court-trials/
Moreover, during the first hearing on Wednesday, it was revealed that Georgian Dream had amended the part of the originally proposed bill concerning the recording of court proceedings.
The original draft stated that video or audio recordings of court proceedings would be allowed only upon submitting a motion to the judge and receiving their approval. However, the version adopted at the first hearing stipulated that such approval must be obtained from the High Council of Justice for each specific court session.
The ruling party introduced the legislative amendments in parallel with the court hearings of individuals detained during the ongoing anti-government protests. These proceedings are being widely covered by independent and government-critical media outlets, which have increasingly faced obstacles in reporting from the courts.
According to a 16 June statement by the Charter of Journalistic Ethics, ‘journalists are sometimes not allowed into courtrooms at all, and at other times are forced to leave before the hearings conclude’.
‘The situation is further aggravated by the violent behavior of court bailiffs, who use excessive force against journalists’, the organisation added.
Both domestic and international observers have repeatedly raised concerns about the Georgian judicial system, viewing it as an institution subject to government influence.
Judicial rulings during the ongoing trials often sparked public outrage. In one high-profile incident in January, demonstrators interrupted a corporate dinner for judges, pelting some of them with eggs.
OC Media
