President Nominates Chairman of Supreme Court

President Saakashvili nominated Kote Kublashvili for the position of Chairman of Supreme Court on February 19 to replace Kote Kemularia, who has been appointed as the new Justice Minister as a result of recent cabinet reshuffle.

President Saakashvili said, while presenting the new nomination at the news conference, that Kublashvili has never been affiliated with any political party.

Kote Kublashvili, a lawyer, currently serves as a chief of the Georgia’s Development and Reform Fund, which was set up last year and which manages to supplement the salaries of Georgian state officials with foreign donations and private money.

Kote Kublashvili was Saakashvili’s deputy when the latter served as the Justice Minister of Georgia in 2001.

“In case the Parliament approves my candidacy, I will spare no efforts to establish, for once and forever, independent and impartial judiciary, which will be free of corrupt judges,” Kote Kublashvili said after the President nominated him.

Mikheil Saakashvili also said that “the state will never interfere in judiciary system.”