The GYLA challenges the article on disorderly conduct in the Constitutional Court

The GYLA has filed another claim in the Constitutional Court with the aim of changing the unconstitutional use of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

On behalf of Konstantine Chachanidze, the GYLA is challenging the normative content of Article 166 (disorderly conduct) of the Code of Administrative Offenses and of articles on the definition of “obscenity” in the Law of Georgia on Freedom of Speech and Expression in the Constitutional Court.   

The goal of the dispute is to find unconstitutional the normative content of those disputed norms according to which a profane word cannot have any political, cultural, educational, or scientific value. Regardless of the context, the said norms regard the utterance of such a word as obscenity in a blanket manner, while the utterance of this word in a public place is punished by administrative liability provided for by Article 166 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

The GYLA believes that the blanket ban on indecent expressions violates freedom of expression and assembly, as it makes it impossible to criticize a politician and a public policy using these terms. Therefore, the disputed norms contradict freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly that are guaranteed by the Constitution.