TBILISI, October 1 – Georgia’s Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), one of the country’s most prominent civil society groups, has filed a new complaint with the Constitutional Court against the recently adopted “Law on Grants.”
The organization said it is challenging Article 61 of the law, which in September gave the Anti-Corruption Bureau broad authority to begin monitoring dozens of non-governmental organizations, including GYLA itself. According to the group, more than 60 organizations are currently under review.
The disputed provision allows the Bureau, with court approval, to demand access to sensitive information from NGOs, banks, and state institutions. That includes personal data and confidential records of all kinds, with the sole exception of state secrets. GYLA said the Bureau has required organizations to submit large amounts of material within just three days. The law does not set a clear timeframe, enabling officials to impose what the NGO calls “unreasonably short deadlines” that create additional barriers to their work.
GYLA argues that these measures violate constitutional protections. The group cites Article 22, which guarantees freedom of association, and Article 18, which ensures the right to a fair process before administrative bodies.
This is GYLA’s second constitutional challenge to the law. In August, it filed an earlier case against provisions that banned giving or receiving grants without prior government approval. The association said that rule amounted to a “gross interference” with the independence of civil society groups to define their own goals and activities.
In its latest action, GYLA has asked the Constitutional Court not only to review the contested provisions but also to suspend their enforcement while the case is pending.
In June 2025, the British Embassy in Georgia canceled several planned grants aimed at supporting electoral transparency and citizen monitoring, citing “procedural uncertainty” caused by the amendments to the Law on Grants. One of the affected grants, reportedly worth GBP 50,000 (around USD 67,000), was intended for the media outlet Tabula. In response, Georgian Dream leaders accused the embassy of attempting to fund “propaganda” and “extremist associations,” naming Tabula as a target.
