The Constitution of Georgia 24 August 1995

EDUCATION

Art.35

1. All have the right to receive education and choice of its form.

2. The State guarantees the conformity of educational programs with international rights and standards.

3. Pre-school education is guaranteed by the State. Primary education is obligatory. Basic education is guaranteed at the expense of the State. Citizens have the right and, in the established framework, to receive without payment in state schools secondary, professional and higher education.

4. The State supports educational institutions in accordance with the law.

EQUALITY

Article 14

Everyone is free by birth and is equal before law regardless of race, colour, language, sex, religion, political and other opinions, national, ethnic and social belonging, origin, property and title, place of residence.

CITIZENSHIP

Article 12

1. Georgian citizenship shall be acquired by birth and naturalisation.

2. A citizen of Georgia shall not at the same time be a citizen of another state, save in cases established by this paragraph. Citizenship of Georgia shall be granted by the President of Georgia to a citizen of foreign country, who has a special merit before Georgia or grant the citizenship of Georgia to him/her is due to State interests. (6.02.2004.N3272)

3. The procedure for the acquisition and loss of citizenship shall be determined by the Organic Law.

LANGUAGE

Article 8

The state language of Georgia shall be Georgian, and in Abkhazia - also Abkhazian. (Change is

added by the Constitutional Law of Georgia of 10 October 2002).

RELIGION

Article 9

1. The state shall declare complete freedom of belief and religion, as well as shall recognise the special role of the Apostle Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia in the history of Georgia and

its independence from the state.

2. The relations between the state of Georgia and the Apostle Autocephalous Orthodox Church of

Georgia shall be determined by the Constitutional Agreement. The Constitutional Agreement shall

correspond completely to universally recognised principles and norms of international law, in

particular, in the field of human rights and fundamental

Article 19

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of speech, thought, conscience, religion and belief.

2. The persecution of a person on the account of his/her speech, thought, religion or belief as well as the compulsion to express his/her opinion about them shall be impermissible.

3. The restriction of the freedoms enumerated in the present Article shall be impermissible unless their manifestation infringes upon the rights of others.

PARENTS

Article 36

1. Marriage shall be based upon equality of rights and free will of spouses.

2. The state shall promote the prosperity of the family.

3. The rights of the mother and the child shall be protected by law.

HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Article 39

The Constitution of Georgia shall not deny other universally recognised rights, freedoms and guarantees of an individual and a citizen, which are not referred to herein but stem inherently from the principles of the Constitution.