Vice-Parliament Speaker: High Council of Justice should start considering public opinion
Vice Parliament Speaker Tamar Chugoshvili says that she has a negative attitude of several judges nominated for the Supreme Court of Georgia. Photo: Parliament’s press office.
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Georgian Vice Parliament Speaker Tamar Chugoshvili has stated that the High Council of Justice (HCJ), an independent body which is responsible for the selection and appointment of judges, should start considering of the public view.
Chugoshvili made the statement after recent criticism by NGOs, the Georgian Public Defender and several members of the HCJ regarding the selection of 10 judges for the Supreme Court of Georgia by judge members of the council on 24 December.
The non-judge members of the council claimed that the HCJ drafted the list of judges without any previous consultations or warnings and stated that many on the list are affiliated with the United National Movement government and unfair verdicts.
The NGOs and the Public Defender have called upon parliament to suspend the selection process of judges, as the life appointment of the judges in the Supreme Court needs the support of majority of lawmakers.
Chugoshvili shares the view that the parliament should start working to change the current procedures for selection of judges for the Supreme Court.
I have two things to say regarding the issue. First concerns the procedures of the selection of judges for the Supreme Court by HCJ. The form of selection of judges is unacceptable to me. The second issue is related to the people on the list. I revealed my negative attitude regarding several of them in 2012 and I have not changed my mind,” Chugoshvili said.
The judge members of the HCJ claim that the reason for the hasty decision was the lack of judges and the workload of the Supreme Court.
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