Kobakhidze Meets Judges, Blasts Foreign Sanctions
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze met today, April 4, with members of the Supreme Court and the High Council of Justice of Georgia. The meeting followed the sanctioning of two senior Georgian judges – Mikheil Chinchaladze and Levan Murusidze – by the United Kingdom for their involvement in “serious corruption.” At the meeting, GD Prime Minister Kobakhidze focused largely on the alleged attempts coming from Georgia’s Western partners to “interfere” in the Georgian judiciary. He praised the Georgian judiciary, alleged its independence, and, together with the chairperson of the Supreme Court, Nino Kadagidze, denounced foreign sanctions against judges.
Claiming that the Georgian judiciary has been experiencing international pressure to give up its independence, Kobakhidze said, “The Georgian judiciary must be independent, it is independent, and it will continue to be independent.” He praised the situation in the Georgian judiciary since the GD came to power in 2012. Kobakhidze criticized the EU’s call during 2024, as part of 12 recommendations for opening accession talks, for the GD government to undergo “vetting” or checks on the integrity of judges, saying: “In reality, they were demanding us to give up the independence of the judiciary.”
He condemned the recent sanctions against judges Murusidze and Chinchaladze, calling the UK’s decision to sanction them a “tragic event.” He also said the same about the U.S. sanctions imposed on Georgian judges in 2023, saying: “It is indeed tragic from the land of Thomas Jefferson that the government representatives sanction Georgian judges and later tell you that they have no evidence, but received information about certain alleged activities from open sources such as the press, television, and media.” He said this is “tragic.” He called foreign sanctions against judges “an attempt of political interference” in the Georgian judiciary, adding that the GD government will ensure that such actions fail.
“I cannot condone and I cannot explain the fact that a judge can be sanctioned simply for carrying out a professional activity,” echoed Supreme Court chairperson Nino Kadagidze. “It is particularly worrying and regrettable that this pressure is coming primarily from those countries and foreign actors whose democracies, as we know them, have so far been based on the principles of protecting the individual independence of judges,” she complained adding: “I would like to say that, fortunately, some people have forgotten that in these cases we are dealing with Georgian judges who… have professional self-respect and a high sense of public responsibility. Therefore, we do not doubt the solidity of our system and the firm position of each of my colleagues.”
She further suggested that the sanctions “may be aimed at strengthening the survival instinct of a judge, thus ensuring the collapse of one of the three pillars of the government.”
Also Read:
- 25/03/2024 – Judicial Conference Condemns “Vetting”, Elects Two to HCoJ
- 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
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