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RELIGIOUS FREEDOM /
Statement
Strasbourg Court has begun a substantive examination of the case regarding the alleged discriminatory funding of religious organizations from the Marneuli budget.
The European Court of Human Rights has decided to conduct a substantive examination of the case concerning the alleged discriminatory funding of religious organizations from the budget of the Marneuli municipality. The court has begun official communication with the Government of Georgia regarding this matter.
The Social Justice Center represents the LEPL Supreme Spiritual Administration of All Muslims of Georgia in this case, arguing that the continued funding of only one religious organization by the Marneuli municipality violates Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which ensures the enjoyment of any right set forth by law without discrimination. The Social Justice Center submitted a claim on this case to the Strasbourg Court on November 30, 2023.
The European Court has submitted questions to the government of Georgia regarding the alleged violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 of the Convention. The court is interested in whether the applicant religious organization was in a similar situation to the Georgian Orthodox Church in terms of funding, whether it was subject to differential treatment, and what the legitimate aim and reasonable justification for such treatment were.
Since 2019, the Social Justice Center has been litigating in national courts on behalf of civil activist Samira Bayramova and the LEPL Supreme Spiritual Administration of All Muslims of Georgia, seeking recognition and elimination of the discriminatory funding practice in favor of the local diocese by the Marneuli municipality.
In 2022, the Bolnisi District Court made a precedent-setting decision, invalidating the provision of the Marneuli Municipal Council’s resolution, which allocated the entire amount of 400,000 GEL from the municipal budget for religious activities exclusively to the Marneuli and Hujabi Diocese. The court recognized the discriminatory nature of the funding and upheld the plaintiffs' argument that this practice contradicted the constitutional principle of secularism.
The Marneuli Municipality appealed the decision to the Tbilisi Court of Appeals. In a single session, the appellate court summarized the extensive and complex three-year-long administrative dispute, which concerned the invalidation of a normative act, direct discrimination based on religion, and the elimination of discriminatory outcomes. The court baselessly overturned the Bolnisi District Court’s decision. Particularly concerning was the evident bias and negative attitude of the judge rapporteur, Leila Mamulashvili, towards the plaintiffs, which was entirely based on their ethnic origin. During the process, the judge asked inappropriate questions and repeatedly inquired of Samira Bayramova, simply because she was an ethnically Azerbaijani citizen of Georgia, whether she knew how the funding of religious organizations was regulated in Azerbaijan and whether Christians received any funding from the Azerbaijani state.
The Supreme Court of Georgia failed to substantively review the case and upheld the appellate court’s decision.
It is noteworthy that the 2022 decision by Bolnisi District Judge Nino Giorgadze was harshly criticized by the Bishop of Marneuli and Hujabi. Later, when the High Council of Justice did not appoint Nino Giorgadze to the position permanently, this decision was explained, among other things, by the interest in suppressing the critical positions taken by the judge in this case.
According to the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, the parties are given 12 weeks to agree on possible terms of friendly settlement. If such an agreement is not reached, the government is obliged to present its views on the circumstances indicated in the application within an additional 12-week period.
The Social Justice Center will regularly inform the public about the updates related to the case proceedings.
We believe that the decision of the European Court on this case can significantly change the discriminatory funding practice of religious organizations from local self-government budgets. This practice not only contradicts constitutional rights and principles but also negatively impacts the principle of equal and fair coexistence of different groups and the process of building an inclusive and democratic society.
