08 April 2026
Criminalization without Harm
On March 4, 2026, the Georgian Parliament passed yet another wave of anti-democratic changes to the Law on Grants and the Criminal Code. The law now criminalizes political expression if individuals or civil society organizations receive foreign support without prior government authorization. Beyond clear violations of freedom of expression and association, the Georgian case reveals a structural gap in criminal law theory and practice – the lack of substantive limits on criminalization. At the same time, the Georgian case shows that this need not be so: at least two concrete rules against criminalization emerge from the Georgian case. Continue reading >>
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27 May 2025
Georgia’s Foreign Agent Law 2.0
Tolga Şirin recently argued for activating interim measures under Rule 39 of the European Court of Human Rights in cases of political prosecution, such as that of Istanbul’s mayor İmamoğlu. This argument gains renewed urgency in light of Georgia’s proposed foreign agent law. Indeed, as civil society organizations (CSOs) face the threat of criminal sanctions under “Foreign Agent Law 2.0”, Rule 39 could become their last remaining remedy. Continue reading >>
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