The Right to Enter and Move Around an Administrative Building
For lobbying to be conducted effectively, the lobbyist has a right of physical presence in the representative and executive branches. A lobbyist has the right to enter and to move around the administrative building of the relevant representative or executive organ, and likewise of the Administration of the President of Georgia — within the regime established for the public servants of that organ, apart from a special regime.
The practical meaning of this norm is as follows: the conditions of the lobbyist's entry and movement are determined by the same rules under which public servants make use of the building of the given organ. A lobbyist does not have unlimited access to the building — the scope of access is defined by the general regime established for the particular organ, and where a special regime applies, entry may not take place on the basis of this right. Accordingly, if you intend to meet or greet a representative of an organ, familiarise yourself in advance with the general rules operating in that building, because it is precisely those rules that extend to you when you exercise this right.
The Right to Receive Information
The quality of a lobbyist's work depends largely on how complete the information available about the legislative change is. The law establishes a clear rule in this respect: a lobbyist has the right, on the basis of a written request, to examine, no later than 2 working days from the request, the official materials connected with the draft normative act provided for in the assignment, held in the relevant representative organ, executive organ or the Administration of the President of Georgia. The lobbyist also has the right, in the established manner, to make copies of those materials.
When exercising this right, pay attention to several details. First, the request must be submitted in writing — an oral application is not sufficient. Second, the time limit is counted in working days, which means that non-working days are not accumulated within it. Third, the information you may examine covers only the official materials connected with the draft normative act provided for in your assignment; access to other materials requires other legal grounds. Finally, this right applies where the legislation of Georgia does not provide otherwise: if the legislation regulates a restriction with respect to particular materials, that restriction prevails.
The Right to Meet a Member of a Representative Organ
The most traditional form of lobbying influence is direct communication. Here too the law provides a corresponding right: a lobbyist has the right to meet a member of the relevant representative organ — in the manner established by the legislation of Georgia for meetings with citizens. This means that a lobbyist requests and holds a meeting under the same procedure by which citizens converse with their elected representatives.
One important circumstance should be noted here: the law itself does not lay down a detailed procedure for the meeting and refers to the legislation of Georgia on meetings with citizens. Accordingly, the procedure, format and conditions of holding a meeting are determined precisely by those provisions — in this part the lobbyist has no greater guarantee than citizens, but the status opens a legal path to such meetings. A practical recommendation is to identify, in written form, the desired topic of the meeting in connection with the legislative change provided for in your assignment.
The Duty of Reporting
Together with the rights of a lobbyist, the law imposes on the lobbyist a significant duty — reporting. The time limits are clearly defined: a lobbyist is obliged to submit a report from the day of registration no later than by the tenth day of each following month, and from the day of termination of the lobbyist's legal status — no later than within 10 days. Reporting is thus monthly, and the termination of status does not cancel the duty: a final, concluding report must also be submitted.
The report must indicate the data established by law, which fall into two groups:
- concerning the monetary sums and other material or non-material values transferred to the lobbyist for the purposes provided for in the assignment — indicating the amount of the monetary sum, the type of the other material or non-material value, the date and conditions of their transfer, and likewise the person who transferred them;
- concerning the expenses incurred by the lobbyist in order to perform the assignment — indicating the purpose, date and conditions of incurring them.
The duty of reporting is not a formality: the report is precisely the document through which society sees who, why and to what extent finances work on a legislative change. The consequences of failing to submit a report are provided for by other provisions of this law, and therefore keeping to the time limits and the completeness of the data are among the most important conditions for maintaining the lobbyist's status.
The Transparency of Lobbying Activity
The foundation of the legal regime of lobbying is its transparency: lobbying activity is public. This principle is reinforced by a concrete guarantee — any citizen of Georgia has the right to examine the documents and reports submitted by a lobbyist to the representative organ, to the executive organ or to the President of Georgia, and to make copies of them.
In practice this means that the documentation submitted by a lobbyist to organs is not closed: an interested citizen may examine who is working, and under what assignment, on a specific legislative change, and where necessary make copies as well. For the lobbyist, this means that information about the activity must be accurate and complete from the outset — any imprecision in the reports or documents may become a matter of public scrutiny. The principle of transparency makes lobbying activity open and gives society the possibility of control over the process of influence.