On March 25, Mamuka Mdinaradze, the leader of the parliamentary majority party Georgian Dream, announced the launch of two draft constitutions on “protecting family values and minors” at a briefing in the offices of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
According to Mdinaradze, the parliament will vote on amending Article 30 of the Georgian Constitution, which stipulates marriage rights and the rights of mother and child. According to him, Article 30 will be supplemented with a new paragraph stating that “the protection of family values and minors is guaranteed by the constitutional law.”
Mdinaradze also outlined the proposed principles of the draft constitution.
- The law only regulates a marriage-like relationship that provides for the union of a genetically male and a genetically female person who are at least 18 years old;
- Adoption or foster care of a minor is permitted only by spouses married in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Georgia or by a heterosexual person;
- Any medical intervention related to changing a person's sex is prohibited;
- The document issued by the state or local government may only indicate the female or male sex according to genetic predisposition.
- Any decision by an authority or an individual restricting, directly or indirectly, the use of gender-specific terms is null and void;
- Gatherings aimed at popularising same-sex family or intimate relationships, incest, the adoption or care of a minor by a same-sex couple or a non-heterosexual person, medical interventions related to gender reassignment or the non-use of gender-specific terminology are prohibited;
- The distribution of a work, program or other material with content aimed at popularising same-sex family or intimate relationships, incest, adoption or foster care of a minor by a same-sex couple or a non-heterosexual person, medical interventions related to gender reassignment or the non-use of gender-specific terminology is prohibited;
- The provision of information in the educational process of a public or private educational institution aimed at popularising same-sex family or intimate relationships, incest, adoption or care of a minor by a same-sex couple or a non-heterosexual person, medical interventions related to gender reassignment or non-use of gender concepts is prohibited.
Mdinaradze also said: “In the near future, we will also undertake relevant and more concrete legislative amendments. These include several dozen laws. The amendments will be in full compliance with the current Constitution,” he said, noting that in the long term they will also be followed by the introduction of constitutional amendments.
According to Mdinaradze, the ruling party assumes that the opposition will not vote for the constitutional amendment and the constitutional law. He added, however, that the majority hopes that they will be adopted at the next parliamentary session after the October elections.
The announcement of plans for a constitutional law protecting family values and the rights of minors came weeks after Mdinaradze announced the ruling majority's intention to draft what he described as an “anti-LGBT propaganda law.” In response to criticism that such a law would violate the constitution, the ruling majority had announced that it would not draft the unconstitutional law. Instead, it announced plans to amend the constitution today.
Constitutional laws are an integral part of the Georgian Constitution, although they are not directly included in the constitutional text. To pass such a law, 3/4 (113 votes) of the MPs must vote in favor of it. If at least two-thirds of the entire composition of the Parliament (100 votes) are in favor of the amendments, the support of the next Parliament is also required to pass the law by no less than 100 votes.
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