Scope of the Law and Key Definitions
The legislation on registration as a lobbyist and on lobbying determines the procedure for registering as a lobbyist and governs the relationships that arise in the course of conducting lobbying activity. If you intend to work on a legislative change and, for that purpose, to exert lawful influence on state organs, first understand the key definitions and then the registration procedure. Note that this law does not extend to the procedures for adopting a decree of the President of Georgia and an order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
- A representative organ is the Parliament of Georgia, the Supreme Council of an Autonomous Republic, or a municipal representative organ;
- An executive organ is the President of Georgia, the Government of Georgia, an institution of executive power, or a municipal executive organ.
The following interpretations are decisive for understanding the law. Lobbying activity is influence, not prohibited by the legislation of Georgia, exerted by a person registered as a lobbyist upon a representative or executive organ, for the purpose of bringing about a legislative change. A legislative change means the adoption of a normative act, or the amendment or the rejection of a draft normative act. The notion of lobbying thus covers both directions — supporting the adoption of a new rule and supporting the amendment or rejection of an existing draft.
Recording of Interests by Public Servants
For the sake of transparency in lobbying, the law imposes a duty to record interests: public servants are obliged to declare in writing their personal interests in, and their sphere of, entrepreneurial activity immediately upon election, appointment or approval to a position — or subsequently, if such interests arise during the performance of their duties.
A member of Parliament, like any other public servant who declares in writing personal interests in the sphere of entrepreneurial activity, has the right to abstain from participating in the discussion of the relevant normative act. This guarantee serves to keep personal interest and public decision from blending into each other.
The Right to Register as a Lobbyist and Grounds for Refusal
The right to register as a lobbyist belongs to a capable citizen of Georgia, save for the exceptional cases provided for by the law. These cases are the grounds for refusal, and the law names them precisely:
- the person's official position is incompatible with the conduct of lobbying activity;
- the person has been convicted of a crime directed against the state or of an official (office-related) crime;
- the data indicated in the person's application or the documents submitted do not satisfy the requirements of the law;
- the person's legal status of lobbyist has been revoked on one of the grounds for revocation provided for by law.
If any of these grounds exists, the person is refused registration as a lobbyist. Note that one of the grounds for refusal is precisely that the person's legal status of lobbyist has previously been revoked on one of the grounds established by law — so a revocation of status significantly complicates re-registration.
The Registration Procedure and the Required Documents
To register as a lobbyist, a person must submit four documents, and each of them must meet the requirements of the law:
- an application for registration as a lobbyist, which must indicate the person's first name and surname, place of residence, place of work and position, the normative act (and normative acts arising from it) or the draft normative act (and drafts arising from it) in whose adoption, amendment or rejection the applicant is interested, as well as the applicant's contact address and telephone numbers;
- the identity card of a citizen of Georgia;
- the assignment contract for the conduct of lobbying activity, which provides for the person's influence upon a representative or executive organ for the purpose of bringing about a legislative change;
- a certificate of criminal record.
The data indicated in the application and the documents submitted must satisfy the requirements of the law — otherwise registration will be refused. Therefore, when completing the application, carefully verify every item, including the normative act or draft in which you are interested: it is precisely this that defines the scope of your future activity.
The Assignment — Form, Subject Matter and Mandatory Content
The assignment is a contract formalised according to the rules established by the Civil Code of Georgia. The law subjects it to strict content restrictions: an assignment may provide for the adoption of only one normative act (and the normative acts arising from it), or the amendment or rejection of only one draft normative act (and the drafts arising from it). In other words, one assignment is devoted to one legislative change — working on several different acts simultaneously requires separate assignments.
As the principal — the person who entrusts the activity to the lobbyist — there may act a legal entity registered in Georgia (other than a state enterprise and a state institution) or a group of no fewer than fifty capable citizens of Georgia. This rule makes it possible for lobbying to be conducted both by a company and by a group of citizens.
An assignment must contain two mandatory items of data: the subject matter of the contract, indicating the legislative change that the principal aims at; and the remuneration for the activity carried out by the lobbyist — indicating its amount, its form and the procedure of payment. Without terms of remuneration, an assignment does not satisfy the requirements of the law.
Loss and Revocation of the Status
The legal status of a lobbyist terminates through its loss or its revocation, and these two routes differ from each other. Loss is directly connected with the assignment itself and its performance:
- the expiry of the term of the assignment or its termination;
- the adoption of a final decision by the representative organ, the executive organ or the President of Georgia on the normative act (and acts arising from it) or the draft (and drafts arising from it) provided for in the assignment.
The difference is this: loss is the natural end of the status, whereas revocation is the consequence of a breach of the rules. The law names the grounds for revocation precisely:
- the arising of a circumstance that excludes the person's registration as a lobbyist;
- the failure to submit a report in the manner established for lobbyists;
- the commission, in the course of conducting lobbying activity, of a violation of law against a member/official of the representative or executive organ in which the person conducts the lobbying, or against an official of the Administration of the President of Georgia, as well as in the administrative building of that organ.
Revocation is effected by decision of the official (organ) that effected the person's registration as a lobbyist. Of the revocation, notification is given to the head of the relevant structure (structural subdivision) of the representative organ, the executive organ or the Administration of the President of Georgia, and to the person whose status is revoked. Bear in mind: since the failure to report is itself a ground for revocation, reporting must never be postponed.
Forms of Organising the Activity
A lobbyist is entitled to conduct lobbying activity both independently and through the various associations of lobbyists created in the manner established by law. The choice of form is yours: you may work individually on a specific legislative change, or join an association of lobbyists and act with pooled resources.
Remember that, whatever the form of organisation, every requirement attached to the status of lobbyist — the registration procedure, the content restrictions on the assignment, the duty of reporting and the rest — applies in the same way: the law provides no alleviation for work through an association.