Court Watch: Judges to Receive Over Half a Million GEL in Supplements This November

According to Georgian Court Watch, a non-governmental organization, on November 11 the High Council of Justice of Georgia (HCOJ) adopted a decision on the supplements for judges of the first and second instance for the month of November, which is worth more than half a million GEL.

“Judges will receive 50 % of their official salary as supplements, for a total of 685,750 GEL [more then USD 250,000],” says Court watch.

In accordance with the Organic Law of Georgia, the remuneration of a judge consists of an official salary and a supplement.  Court Watch publishes the amount of official salary for judges, which is determined by the Organic Law on General Courts:

• Chairman of the Court of Appeal – 5,800 GEL;
• Deputy Chairman of the Court of Appeal – 5,600 GEL;
• Chairman of the Chamber of the Court of Appeal – 5,300 GEL;
• Judge of the Court of Appeal – 5,000 GEL;
• Chairman of the district (city) court – 4,600 GEL;
• District (city) court panel chairman – 4,300 GEL;
• District (city) court judge, magistrate judge – 4,000 GEL.

The organization posts the amount of the supplements based on the position for the judges:

The decision comes in the midst of court cases brought by observer organizations over alleged irregularities in the 26 October parliamentary elections, and what observers say is a growing distrust of the court system in general.

On November 4 judge Vladimer Khuchua of the Tetritskaro Municipality confirmed that the secrecy of the vote had been violated in the October 26 elections, setting an important precedent for the case. This decision annulled the results of 30 precincts. He is the only judge so far to rule in favor of the plaintiff in the electoral fraud case.

His decision was later overruled by the Tbilisi Court of Appeals, after which the Court consolidated all complaints from polling stations across eastern Georgia into a one case, as watchdogs alleged to have more control over the legal process, and ultimately dismissed all 26 cases filed by GYLA and My Vote.

Speaking to Radio Liberty, Nazi Janezashvili, the founder of ‘Court Watch’, said that the main aim of the HCOJ’s practice of granting supplements is to gain the loyalty of judges.

“Why is the Council doing this? It is very important. To get as much loyalty as possible from the system, from the judges,” Janezashvili explained, adding that the salary, with or without a supplement, is up to the High Council of Justice to define and does not need to be approved by the government. In this way, the Council will “maintain its influence in the system as much as possible” and to “have more hope that the judges will be loyal if necessary.”

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