On June 27, the Parliament of Georgia approved the appointment of three new judges to the Supreme Court. Judges Badri Shonia and Gocha Jeiranashvili were appointed with 78 votes and their lifelong mandate will take effect from October 18 this year. Gizo Ubilova was appointed with 80 votes and his mandate will start immediately.
Court Watch’s Assessment
The judicial watchdog, Georgian Court Watch, has issued a statement regarding the Parliament’s official filling of 27 out of 28 seats of lifelong judges of the Supreme Court of Georgia. The watchdog said: “With this decision, “Georgian Dream” effectively completes the process of staffing the Supreme Court with the lifetime judges it wants. “
The CSO stresses that “taking into account the constitutional role and status of the Supreme Court of Georgia, it is essential to staff the court with conscientious personnel”.
The organization points out that when Georgia was granted the status of an EU candidate country, it received a specific recommendation to reform the judicial system, including the creation of an extraordinary mechanism to check the integrity of persons in leading positions in the court, with the participation of international experts.
“However, the Georgian Dream not only did not start work on the creation of a mechanism to check the integrity of judges, but the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament even declared the issue closed. This deprives the judicial system of any future prospect of thorough reform,” – notes the Court Watch, adding: “Today, the undeserved election by the Parliament of three judges loyal to a group of influential judges to the highest body of the court, in conditions when the government refuses to create a mechanism to check integrity, distances Georgia from the European Union and, along with other challenges in the judicial system, may become one of the obstacles to starting negotiations on joining the European Union.”
Also Read:
- 22/03/2024 – EC Tells Georgia Judge Vetting Part of EU Negotiation “Fundamentals”
- 20/03/24 – Dozens of CSOs React to PM, Speaker Statements on Ruling Out “Vetting” of Judges
- 15/03/2024 – Two Supreme Court Judges Disagree with Court’s Denunciation of Proposed ‘Vetting’
- 13/03/2024 – Watchdogs: Government’s Refusal of Vetting in Judiciary Hinders EU Integration
- 11/03/2024 – Supreme Court Denounces Proposed ‘Vetting’ as Threat to Judicial Independence
-
-
-
-
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)