The president has the power to appoint ministers with parliament s consent, but may dismiss ministers without parliament s approval. Parliament may impeach the president with a two-thirds majority if the supreme court rules that the president has committed treason or another high crime. The 235-member parliament is elected every four years. The Civil Code and other legislation make it a crime to insult the honor and dignity of an individual and place the burden of proof on the accused. There is no law providing public access to information and government officials are sometimes unwilling to answer press inquiries.
Journalists lack effective legal protection.
Nevertheless, dozens of independent newspapers operate freely, frequently criticizing high-ranking officials. No independent newspaper as yet has a large national audience, although several have emerged as serious and reputable sources of information. During the last two years, the government monopoly on radio and television programs was broken and the Internet became a vital source of information for an incresing number of Georgians. Freedom of religion is generally respected in this predominantly Christian Orthodox country. There are, however, restrictions aimed at foreign missionaries concerning the activities of nontraditional religions.