Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili responded to a question on whether “Georgian Dream” is considering criminal liability for individuals who publicly refuse to recognize constitutional authorities:

“Of course, we are considering the idea that was raised yesterday - we must think about how such situations can be addressed when there are extremist manifestations against the constitutional order and public order. Our approach is based on protecting democracy and the constitutional order.”

Papuashvili said that some groups aim to instill in the public the ideology that constitutional bodies do not exist and that power belongs to the streets, which must be seized. He labeled this as extremism and referred to Germany as an example.

“We are observing and regulating all issues that are problematic for our society, the constitutional order, and public safety. Extremism must be named. We have an example from Germany with the so-called ‘Reichsbürger’ movement, which had 20,000 followers. The German Justice Minister shut it down in one day, and four people, including its leader, were arrested. The charges involved refusing to recognize constitutional authorities - in Georgia, constitutional authorities are similarly not recognized, and parallel structures are being created.

In Germany, someone claimed to be the King of Germany. Here, we have a woman claiming to be the President of Georgia and even using the presidential standard. Fortunately, ambassadors no longer meet her, but previously they did. Presumably, she seeks a monarchy. In Germany, there were calls not to pay taxes - we heard similar claims in Georgia. Parallel structures and chambers were being created there; here, attempts were made to create a parallel parliament and chambers. In Germany, there was violence and threats against judges, police, and public officials - does this not remind us of threats against judges, police, and public officials in Georgia?

Extremism and domestic terrorism are challenges for all countries, and every state fights against them. We will see what form the idea takes and what Parliament decides.”

For context, Archil Gorduladze, Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee, noted that it may be possible to establish criminal liability by law for individuals who publicly call for non-recognition of constitutional bodies. He made the remark during Parliament’s session in response to MP Levan Machavariani, who asked whether Parliament should consider sanctions against political groups or activists who refuse to recognize the legitimacy of elected authorities, create parallel government structures, boycott government decisions, obstruct police work, claim the country is run by an occupying power, and encourage others to engage in similar acts.