Constitution of Georgia (country) in the context of "Government of Georgia (country)"

The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia (Georgian: საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, romanized: sakartvelos samotsikulo avt'ok'epaluri martlmadidebeli ek'lesia), commonly known as the Georgian Orthodox Church or the Orthodox Church of Georgia, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with the other churches of Eastern Orthodoxy. It is Georgia's dominant religious institution, and a majority of Georgian people are members. The Orthodox Church of Georgia is one of the oldest churches in the world. It asserts apostolic foundation, and that its historical roots can be traced to the early and late Christianization of Iberia and Colchis by Andrew the Apostle in the 1st century AD and by Saint Nino in the 4th century AD, respectively. As in similar autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, the church's highest governing body is the holy synod of bishops. The church is headed by the Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II, who was elected in 1977.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity was the state religion throughout most of Georgia's history until 1921, when the country, having declared independence from Russia in 1918, was occupied by the Red Army during the Soviet invasion of Georgia, becoming part of the Soviet Union. The current Constitution of Georgia recognizes the special role of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the country's history, but also stipulates the independence of the church from the state. Government relations are further defined and regulated by the Concordat of 2002.

Secularism in Georgia was most popular in the 20th century when the country was part of the Soviet Union. In the 21st century, secular and non-religious currents have seen a precipitous decline due to the rising number of people practicing the Georgian Orthodox Church. Article 9 of the current Constitution of Georgia provides for complete freedom of belief and religion. It also recognizes the "special role ... in the history of Georgia" of the Georgian Orthodox Church, but stipulates that the GOC shall be independent of the state. A special Concordat (legal agreement) between the Georgian state and the GOC was ratified in 2002, giving the GOC a special legal status and rights not given to other religious groups—including legal immunity for the Georgian Orthodox Patriarch, exemption from military service for GOC clergy, and a consultative role in education and other aspects of the government.

Georgia is currently undergoing a political crisis due to the disputed legitimacy of the October 2024 Georgian parliamentary election, which was conducted with significant irregularities and described by observers as "fundamentally flawed". The crisis continued with the unconstitutional self-convening of Parliament and escalated with the decision of the ruling party to suspend preparations for EU accession negotiations, which was seen as contradicting Article 78 of the Georgian Constitution. The crisis entered another phase with the election of a new president by the Georgian Electoral Assembly and its 29 December 2024 inauguration of Mikheil Kavelashvili. Salome Zourabichvili stated on 29 December and during the following weeks that she remained the president of Georgia.

Protests against the ruling party have continued since the election, with hundreds of protesters arrested, beaten or tortured by the police and the ruling-party affiliated violent groups, who also attacked journalists.

The Parliament of Georgia (Georgian: საქართველოს პარლამენტი, romanized: sakartvelos p'arlament'i) is the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members elected through fully proportional election. The current convocation of the Georgian Parliament is 11th.

All members of the Parliament are elected for four years on the basis of universal suffrage. The Constitution of Georgia grants the Parliament of Georgia a legislative power, which is partially devolved to the legislatures of the autonomous republics of Adjara and Abkhazia.

The Georgia–South Ossetia separation line is a de facto boundary set up in aftermath of the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War and Russo-Georgian War, which separates the self-declared Republic of South Ossetia from the territory controlled by the Government of Georgia. South Ossetia, and those states that recognise its independence, view the line as an international border separating two sovereign states, whereas the Georgian government views it as an occupation line in accordance with the Georgian "Law on Occupied Territories of Georgia". The Constitution of Georgia does not recognize South Ossetia as having any special status within Georgia, therefore the line does not correspond to any Georgian administrative area, with the territory claimed by the Republic of South Ossetia shared out amongst several Georgian Mkhares: Shida Kartli, Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti and Mtskheta-Mtianeti.