Parliament Releases List of Public Defender Applicants
The Parliament of Georgia has released the list of people, nineteen in total, who have submitted their applications to be the next Public Defender of Georgia. These are:
- Ana Abashidze – lawyer; Director of the civil society organization Partnership for Human Rights (PHR).
- Marika Arevadze – lawyer; working as an attorney at the law firm Arevadze, Gonashvili, and Partners; Director of Strategic Development and Public Relations for the CSO Alliance of the Georgian-Ukrainian Commonwealth; Chairperson of the Legal Space; and member of the Ethics Commission at the Georgian Bar Association.
- Giorgi Burjanadze – lawyer; Deputy Public Defender of Georgia.
- Lela Gaprindashvili – philosopher; chairperson of the Women’s Initiative for Equality (WIE); Associate Professor of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at the Tbilisi State University.
- Sofio Demetrashvili – Doctor of Law and Political Sciences; Associate Professor of the Faculty of Law and International Relations of the Technical University of Georgia; guest lecturer at Sulkhan Saba Orbeliani University; and the Deputy Executive Director of the Davit Batonishvili Law Institute.
- Tinatin Erkvania – lawyer; attorney at the German Legal Firm, Hengeler Mueller
(Berlin Office); Research Fellow at the Humboldt University of Berlin; Associate Professor at the GIPA School of Law and Politics; Head of the Center for Law and Society in a Global Context of GIPA University. - Evgenia Tavadze – Doctor of Medicine; temporarily unemployed; employed as a financial manager in the past as well as an individual expert in the Ministry of Health.
- Aleksandre Kobaidze – lawyer; Chairperson of the CSO Association of Young Human Rights Defenders; founder and Director of Aleksandre Kobaidze law office.
- Levan Kokorashvili – lawyer; Chairperson of the Union of Young Lawyers of the Kvareli district.
- Nugzar Kokhreidze – Master of Slavic Philology; Chairperson of the Research-Intellectual Club ‘Dialogue of Generations.’
- Giorgi Mariamidze – lawyer; Director of the Citizens Protection Institute.
- Sergo Makharadze – lawyer; attorney for the Georgian Trade Union Confederation.
- Maka Mindiashvili – a specialist in law and international relations; founder of the People’s Voice.
- Jemal Natelashvili – lawyer; member of the Georgian Bar Association.
- Nikoloz Nikoladze – master of the history of international relations and diplomacy; reserve of the diplomatic service of Georgia.
- Ketevan Chachava – Doctor of Political Sciences; member of the steering committee of the World Movement for Democracy; Executive Director of the Center for Development and Democracy; former Director at the NATO and EU Info Center.
- Giorgi Tsobekhia – lawyer; managing partner, director of the law firm Giorgi Tsobekhia and Partners; a lawyer for the Tbilisi Yacht Club, member of the Georgian Bar Association.
- Iago Khvichia – lawyer; member of the GIrchi Party of Parliament; member of the Prosecution Council.
- Nazi Janezashvili – lawyer; Director of the CSO Georgian Court Watch; former non-judge member of the High Council of Justice (HCoJ).
Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili stated after the list was released that the process of selecting a new Public Defender is “open, transparent, [and] objective” and added that Parliament will now wait for the working group meant to evaluate the candidates to submit their revised list by 13 October.
“Now it’s the opposition’s turn to select at least seven candidates from the possible candidates, which will then be discussed,” the Parliament Speaker said and reiterated that the ruling Georgian Dream party will not interfere in the process of who is nominated as a candidate to take over as the new Public Defender.
The Parliament announced the competition for Public Defender candidates on 15 September, and the applications closed on 29 September. The Public Defender candidates will be evaluated by a 9-member working group created by the Speaker of Parliament. That group will then present the candidates that they have chosen to Parliament for a vote to decide who will be the new Public Defender.
The Parliament will only start considering candidates if there are at least seven of them.
- 09/09/2022 – Parliament Adopts Controversial Bill on Nominating Public Defender
- 09/09/2022 – Parliament Reveals Working Group Meant to Evaluate Public Defender Candidates
Nino Lomjaria, the acting Public Defender, is slated to finish her term in December 2022.
Also Read:
- 27/09/2022 – Public Defender’s Office Criticizes Draft Bill on Nominating Ombudsman
- 27/09/2022 – Civil Society Organizations Present Candidates for New Public Defender
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