Media: Georgia has constitutionally institutionalised freedom of press and opinion, combined with the Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression. However, according to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, the freedom of expression has been significantly restricted in the past two years. The Law on Broadcasting was adopted in December 2004 and in 2005 the State Television and Radio were transformed into the Georgian Public Broadcasting system (GPB). In 2004, the government passed a new libel law that clarifies that statements made in Parliament, courts and political debates are not considered libel. Furthermore, the law shifts the burden of proof to the accuser and specifies entire companies, rather than individual reporters, as defendants. Despite legal protections, there have been reports by some media outlets opposed to the government, of state intervention in the media. However, according to Freedom House 2011, there were far fewer reports of direct government intervention in 2010 compared to previous years. Nevertheless, in 2010, there were numerous reports of media outlets and journalists being physical harassed and intimidated occasionally. Press freedom rights have reportedly been subject to increasing government restrictions and intolerance, resulting in a decline in media independence and freedom since the 2003 Rose Revolution, as reported in a 2010 news article by AFP. According to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, the main opposition television channel, Imedi, is regularly critical of government policies. However, it was controversially shut down and reportedly ransacked in connection with the imposed November 2007 state of emergency. Imedi remained closed even after the state of emergency was lifted only to reopen on 6 December 2007, after significant domestic and international pressure was put on the government. According to the assessment made by Transparency International's National Integrity Report 2011 on media, Georgian media have not been particularly successful or active in exposing corruption cases. In addition, the report also states that the authorities' influence have undermined the ability of the media to expose corruption. Reporters Without Borders 2011-2012 ranks Georgia 105th out of 179 countries, while Freedom House's Freedom of the Press index 2011 ranks the country 118th out of 196 countries and describes its press environment as 'partly free'.

Civil Society: The civil society has been active even before the collapse of the Soviet Union and is still mainly funded by foreign donors. Freedom of assembly and association are generally respected by Georgian authorities. According to Freedom House 2011, NGOs are able to register and operate without arbitrary restrictions. Many NGOs themselves play an important role in public debates and discussions in Georgia, but the general unwillingness of the government to engage with civil society has weakened the latter's ability to assert influence. Moreover, Transparency International's National Integrity System 2011 also notes that the internal weaknesses of CSOs, such as underfunding and a lack of professional staff are factors that hamper their ability to influence government policy formulation and hold the government accountable. Global Integrity 2009 reports that there is no evidence that the government tries to create barriers against anti-corruption/good governance CSOs. However, these CSOs are often not allowed access to certain public information or to obtain further insight into sensitive cases. Furthermore, according to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, different ministries hold different attitudes towards the CSOs, for example, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education stay in regular contact with CSOs, while other ministries, such as the Ministry of Interior or President Saakashvili himself, are more reluctant to having close cooperation with CSOs. There have been some cases of CSO activists being attacked and exposed to illegal arrests. 

Transparency International Georgia: Transparency International Georgia is active in promoting corruption awareness and transparency, and monitoring government initiatives. Annual reports (in Georgian) concerning corruption can be accessed on the organisation's website. Transparency International Georgia has also established the Georgia Advocacy and Legal Advice Center (G-ALAC). The G-ALAC aims to assist citizens in resolving corruption related problems, and it also provides a free hotline for citizens to report corruption cases. So far the majority of corruption related complaints received by the G-ALAC are related to judicial corruption and property rights violations.

Open Society Georgia Foundation: The Open Society Georgia Foundation, a member of the Soros Foundation, works to increase transparency in public administration and build democratic values through the rule of law. It runs several other programmes, including a civil society and media support programme and belongs to a coalition of NGOs in Georgia called For Transparency of Public Finance, which publishes reports and monitors public financing and public policies.

Civil Society Institute: The Civil Society Institute is an NGO that works to enhance good governance and transparency. The Civil Society Institute is involved in the drafting of laws and carries out watchdog activities on government work. Furthermore, the Civil Society Institute is also involved in training public officials in good governance. Access the institute's reports here.