ECHR Finds “Lack of Objective Impartiality” in Kezerashvili Case

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on December 5 that Georgia violated former Defense Minister David Kezerashvili’s right to a fair trial (European Convention on Human Rights Article 6 § 1) due to the lack of objective impartiality in the Supreme Court proceedings. At the same time, having reviewed the judgment and the reasons contained within it, the Court did not find that Supreme Court’s findings had been arbitrary or manifestly unreasonable to the point of prejudicing the fairness of the proceedings or resulting in a “denial of justice”.

The Strasbourg Court found that the inclusion of Judge Shalva Tadumadze, who previously served as Georgia’s Prosecutor General when Kezerashvili’s appeal was pending, in the bench “cast doubt on the objective impartiality of the Supreme Court”.

The Court noted that even though Judge Tadumadze had not directly handled the case as Prosecutor General, his former position and the timing of events could create an impression of continued support for the prosecution’s appeal.

“The combination of the above elements may have created the impression that Sh.T. continued to support the appeal on points of law in the applicant’s high-profile case during his tenure as Prosecutor General, while having access to internal information about the prosecution service’s strategy in handling the criminal proceedings against the applicant, given his prominence and the political sensitivity of the criminal proceedings against him… The Court finds that the inclusion of the former Prosecutor General in the bench of judges which heard the applicant’s case was sufficient, in the circumstances of the present case, to cast doubt on the objective impartiality of the Supreme Court in ruling on the appeal on points of law in the applicant’s case.”

The Court also ruled that there was no violation of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (right to a fair trial) on account of the Supreme Court’s reversal of the applicant’s acquittal by the lower courts.

The ECHR dismissed Kezerashvili’s other complaints, including:

• The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn his acquittal through written proceedings
• Claims about insufficient reasoning in the judgment
• Allegations of political motivation behind his prosecution under Article 18 (which stipulates that it is a violation of the ECHR for a state to restrict a listed human right for any reason other than the one formally given and allowed under the Convention)

The Court ruled that finding a violation constituted sufficient just satisfaction, without awarding monetary compensation.

The case concerned a set of proceedings in which Kezerashvili, a former Minister of Defense, was tried, acquitted, and ultimately convicted, in absentia, of embezzlement. Embezzlement charges against Kezerashvili related to a military training contract during his tenure as Defense Minister in 2006-2008. While lower courts acquitted him, the Supreme Court overturned these decisions and sentenced him to five years in prison. The ruling will become final in three months unless any party requests the case be referred to the Grand Chamber, the ruling says.

Both parties have made contrasting responses to the ruling. Kezerashvili commented that “the Strasbourg Court is not a higher-instance court that reviews or adjudicates the criminal charges presented at the national level.” He emphasized that the ruling “confirmed that my right to a fair trial—a fundamental principle of due process—was violated,” adding that courts in France and the UK “have established that the Georgian government has been conducting political persecution against me for years.” Later, he also wrote that the police is preparing to enter his home for a search.

In contrast, the Ministry of Justice of Georgia stated that: “The decision of the Strasbourg Court confirmed that Davit Kezerashvili embezzled state funds allocated for the Georgian army during his tenure as Defense Minister and that there was no political persecution against him”.

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