Georgia’s parliament is preparing to consider a bill that would eliminate fines and late-payment penalties for individuals penalized following recent protests and demonstrations.

The proposal was submitted by the opposition faction For Georgia, led by former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, and is due to be discussed in first reading by parliament’s legal affairs committee today, Wednesday. It targets people fined for violating rules governing assemblies and demonstrations, The Caspian Post reports, citing foreign media.

Under the draft, those people would be cleared of both the original fines and the extra penalties that built up later. If a fine has already been paid, the money should be returned. The proposal also says that once the law takes effect, the violation should be treated as having no legal record.

The bill’s authors say Georgia’s economic reality has made such penalties too heavy for many households to bear. In the explanatory note, they point to high inflation and unemployment and argue that the fines, especially those imposed under Article 174¹ of Georgia’s Code of Administrative Offenses, can run far beyond the monthly budget of an average family. They say that can push citizens into extreme poverty.

The initiators also explain the move as political de-escalation, saying that scrapping the fines would be a humanitarian step in a period of sharp political confrontation and could reduce what they describe as a public sense of injustice among protest participants.

Anti-government rallies have become part of daily public life since Georgia’s disputed parliamentary election on October 26, 2024. Protesters have demanded new elections and the release of detainees, while the authorities have answered with arrests, court cases and financial penalties.

Although the proposed bill would reduce the impacts of smaller violations, it would not address the political fault lines regarding the handling of more serious protest related cases, such as the October 4, 2025 rally in Tbilisi, when police arrested organizers including opera singer Paata Burchuladze on suspicion of coup attempt and violence charges. In a separate case, opposition politician Aleko Elisashvili was charged with attempted terrorism and faces up to 15 years in prison.