Watchdogs: Government’s Refusal of Vetting in Judiciary Hinders EU Integration
Five local watchdogs said in their joint statement of March 13 that the initiative to establish a system of extraordinary integrity checks for judges, which is one of the nine conditions set by the European Commission for Georgia in November 2023, is “in full compliance with international standards and this fact has already been recognized by the European Court of Human Rights”. Earlier the ruling GD party representatives said they consider the so-called vetting “unacceptable”, with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze going so far as to say that the introduction of such vetting of judges would violate the Georgian Constitution.
The watchdogs stress that the Government’s rhetoric against such an integrity check system has also been shared by the very judges whose integrity is highly questioned in society, including Shalva Tadumadze and Vladimer Kakabadze, life judges of the Supreme Court of Georgia, and Levan Murusidze, a U.S.-sanctioned life judge and member of the High Council of Justice of Georgia.
The CSOs reject the recent statement by the Supreme Court of Georgia which denounced the vetting mechanism to check the integrity of judges, suggesting that it does not meet international standards and will “undermine the independence of the judiciary and individual judges.”
The watchdogs also outline that the process of selecting judges of the Supreme Court was flawed therefore came under criticism from by local and international organizations, including the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), which monitored the process. CSOs note that the shortcomings of this process are well known to the general public due to the live broadcasts of the candidates’ interviews.
- 02/12/2021 – EU Slams Top Court Appointments in Georgia
- 26/11/2021 – U.S. Embassy Disappointed with Continued Top Court Selection
CSOs call on the authorities “to recognize the problems in the judicial system in a timely manner and start taking the steps that are provided by the 9 steps approved by the European Commission.”
The statement is signed by five local civil society organizations: Transparency International / TI – Georgia, Georgia’s Democratic Initiative, Georgian Court Watch, Democracy Defenders and the Civil Society Foundation.
On February 27, the coalition of twelve civil society organizations presented a detailed vision for the implementation of the nine steps defined by the European Commission for Georgia to move to the next stage of the EU integration process and start accession talks. Drawing on the relevant EU Commission’s recommendation, the CSOs called on the government to create an emergency system in which international experts will play a crucial role in verifying the integrity of candidates and those already appointed/elected to leadership positions in the judiciary, including the High Council of Justice, judges of the Supreme Court and Chairs of Courts. In addition, the CSOs called for the creation of a system for permanent and periodic verification of property declarations, which will involve international experts with a supervisory and advisory mandate.
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