skip to content
News

US Embassy: US Stands with Judges and Other Legal Professionals

“The United States stands with judges and other legal professionals everywhere who strive to make reasoned, independent decisions, free from pressure and external influence,” – stated the US Embassy Tbilisi on April 12.

The announcement of the embassy was preceded by the US State Department’s April 5 imposition of sanctions on 4 Georgian judges “due to corruption”, which was followed by the declaration of full support by the Georgian government for the Georgian judges and accusations of “politicized interference” in Georgian justice. The sanctioned judges themselves rejected the allegations of corruption and accused the US embassy of trying to “seize” the judiciary.

According to the Embassy, “freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and a pillar of prosperous democracies everywhere,” and is essential for stimulating innovation and education, providing people with knowledge and keeping them informed, and it is vital for safeguarding other human rights. “It is the courts that often must protect this freedom,”- noted the Embassy.

The Embassy stressed that “the United States is proud to support hard-working, honest, professional judges from Georgia who are committed to upholding the law for the benefit of Georgia’s people. The U.S. Embassy supports opportunities for judges to share expertise and to uphold fundamental human rights and rule of law in their courtrooms. This ultimately contributes to more prosperous, democratic, and equitable societies.”

In this regard, the Embassy notes that, in partnership with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), 10 Georgian civil and administrative law judges were on a working visit to the United States, and the purpose of the visit was to “to share expertise related to freedom of expression.”

“[The judges] attended court hearings and met U.S. judicial experts. They visited the Institute of Free Speech and met with The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press to learn about defending free speech and how journalists face legal challenges,” – stated the Embassy.

According to the same statement, the judges also met with representatives of The New York Times to discuss legal issues related to the media. In addition, “[they] observed a federal appellate argument at the U.S. Court of Appeals to gain valuable insights into the appellate process.”

“Selecting judges to participate in the visit was highly competitive: 60 applicants were reviewed in an open competition. Those selected represent seven different courts in Georgia.”- said Embassy.

Also Read:

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)

მსგავსი/Related

Back to top button