Moratorium on Selling Agricultural Lands to Foreigners to be Fully Activated on December 16
By Tea Mariamidze
Thursday, December 13
Georgia’s Parliament Speaker, Irakli Kobakhidze says that moratorium on selling agricultural plots to foreign citizens will be fully activated from December 16, when the new edition of Constitution takes effect.
Kobakhidze made the statement in response to Parliamentary opposition party the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia (APG), which is against of the decision of the Constitutional Court of Georgia, allowing foreigners register their lands in Georgia until December 16.
“There is no need to worry about the issue, as the moratorium fully takes effect from December 16,” Kobakhidze said.
APG held a protest rally at the Constitutional Court building in Batumi two days ago, asking for the abolition of the court.
The party expressed protest regarding the decision of Constitutional Court based on which the moratorium about the prohibition of selling agricultural plots to foreign citizens was declared as unconstitutional until the end of the week.
The party claims the decision of the Court was unfair and demands the abolition of the Constitutional Court.
So far foreign citizens have left 3 days to register their land plots until the new Constitution comes into force, after which they will no longer have the right.
In June 2017 the Parliament of Georgia adopted a legislative amendment that placed a moratorium on the sale of agricultural land to foreign citizens and stateless persons. Under the amendments foreigners, legal entities registered abroad and legal entities registered by foreigners in Georgia were not able to purchase agricultural land in Georgia.
Georgia is a country with a small amount of land with an average of 0.24 hectares of agricultural land being cultivated per capita and the changes were made to protect country’s cultural and historical heritage and also its economic and political independence.
