Read the full submission here
On 17 July 2025, Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) submitted a report for the fourth cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Georgia. The next UPR will take place in January 2026.
The report raises serious concerns about Georgia’s compliance with its international human rights obligations, particularly in relation to the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. Since the last UPR cycle, the independence of the legal profession has been under sustained attack, with lawyers facing increasing intimidation, harassment, and undue interference in their professional duties.
The submission highlights the adoption of several restrictive laws, including the Foreign Agents Registration Act (2025), the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence (2024), the Amendments to the Law on Grants (2025), and the Law on Family Values and Protection of Minors (2024). These laws undermine civil society, threaten lawyer-client confidentiality, and stigmatize lawyers as “foreign agents.” They also restrict legal aid to vulnerable groups, particularly affecting CSOs and the LGBTIQ+ community.
Lawyers are routinely denied timely access to clients and case materials, especially in protest-related cases. Detainees are often interrogated without legal counsel, while courts have at times forced defendants to accept state-appointed lawyers against their will. Judges have verbally abused and intimidated lawyers, including those affiliated with CSOs, undermining judicial impartiality and discouraging representation in politically sensitive cases.
The report further documents arrests, arbitrary detention, and smear campaigns against lawyers. Several prominent lawyers, such as Eduard Marikashvili, Giorgi Davituri, and Shota Tutberidze, have been arrested during peaceful protests. Others have been publicly branded as “foreign agents” by pro-government media, leading to defamation and online harassment.
In light of these developments, L4L call on UN Member States to make the following recommendations:
- Refrain from any actions that may constitute harassment, persecution, or undue interference in the work of lawyers, including their arrest or criminal prosecution on improper grounds such as the expression of critical views or the nature of the case that the lawyer is involved in.
- Within six months, ensure mechanisms are in place to hold judges accountable for inappropriate conduct or discriminatory remarks directed at lawyers during court proceedings which may unduly interfere with the exercise of their professional duties and undermine equality of arms.
- Ensure the immediate and unconditional release of lawyers and human rights defenders who are arbitrarily detained and prosecuted for carrying out their legitimate professional duties.
- Promptly repeal laws that impede human rights and the rule of law by targeting or stigmatizing individuals and organizations, such as lawyers or legal aid CSOs, including the FARA, the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, the Law on Grants, and the Law on Family Values and Protection of Minors, or amend them to bring them in line with international human rights standards.
- Take immediate measures to ensure that lawyers have full access to their clients and to restore and ensure full confidentiality of communication between lawyers and their clients, including when clients are held in pre-trial detention.
- Take immediate action to guarantee due process and fair trial rights, including by providing lawyers with full access to their case files without undue delay or restrictions, both in law and practice.
