Unlike American and Russian laws, the People’s Power movement’s draft Law on the Transparency of Foreign Influence is entirely in conformity with human rights standards and provides for the bare minimum of disclosure, Irakli Kobakhidze, chair of the Georgian Dream Party, stated.

Irakli Kobakhidze labelled the American law a “complete disaster.”

“I can directly tell you, as a lawyer, a human rights specialist, that the US law is a complete disaster; we truly could not approve such a law in the Parliament of Georgia. In terms of Russian law, I am now familiar with it, and it is similar to American law; that is, you can directly compare Russian law to American law. The Russian statement regarding softening appears to be a lie; in truth, Russian law is identical to US law.

As for the Georgian draft Law on the Transparency of Foreign Influence tabled by People’s Power, unlike American and Russian laws, it is entirely in conformity with human rights standards and provides for the bare minimum of disclosure, nothing more. It is a very clear, succinct law that requires companies receiving more than 20% foreign money to file yearly disclosures, which is drastically different from both American and Russian legislation, which are entirely incompatible with human rights principles. Both laws are catastrophic.

Of course, we could not and would not be able to pass such legislation, nor would we support its adoption. A Georgian bill is neither American nor Russian, it has been prepared based on American law at the level of principles but is fundamentally different. This draft complies with human rights standards. This is reality; everything else is lies and speculation,” Irakli Kobakhidze stated.

According to the GD Chair, all interested parties may easily compare Russian and American legislation with the People’s Power bill to ensure it is entirely compliant with human rights.