Judge Blocking His Anti-Corruption Verification Accuses Watchdogs of “Bias”, “Discrimination”, “Leaks”
On April 5, Tbilisi City Court Judge Sergo Metopishvili responded to watchdog claims that the judges tried to shield themselves from the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s scrutiny by appealing the Tbilisi City Court on procedural grounds. He said the judges used the right of appeal as a “constitutionally guaranteed right of redress.”
- 05/04/2024 – Watchdogs: Sanctioned Judges Use Court to Shield Themselves from Anti-Corruption Verification
Judge Metopishvili accused the CSOs of a “years-long smear campaign,” saying that the CSO Commission advising the Bureau is biased and “discriminatory” for repeatedly picking the same judges for monitoring. He also claimed, without substantiation, that the Commission was leaking “the information on the private lives and finances” of the judges.
The judge also echoed the ruling party narrative which is accompanying the recent re-submission of the “foreign agents law” and said CSOs, who themselves refuse “to submit several pages of financial declaration,” are not credible in calling for the transparency of the judges.
Metopishvili noted that the asset declarations of the judges will be submitted in the fall, stressing that they applied to the court preemptively because “it was important that all these issues were raised at the trial right before the submission of the declarations, within the framework of court proceedings!”
Also Read:
- 03/04/2024 – Commentary around Vetting, Judiciary
- 02/04/2024 – GD ‘Categorical’ in Urging U.S. to Lift Sanctions on Judges
- 22/03/2024 – EC Tells Georgia Judge Vetting Part of EU Negotiation “Fundamentals”
- 20/03/2024 – Dozens of CSOs React to PM, Speaker Statements on Ruling Out “Vetting” of Judges
- 30/11/2023 – Watchdog Criticizes Judicial System, Calls for Reform
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian)
