Parliament speaker says two formats will be created for discussions on judges
Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze says that the new criteria and procedures for the selection and appointment of judges will be drafted before the spring session. Photo: Parliament press office.
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Georgian Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze says that two formats will be created to provide criteria and procedures which will remove question marks regarding the lifetime appointment of judges in courts.
The statement comes after a controversy concerning a list of judges for the Supreme Court of Georgia, which was composed by the High Council of Justice - an independent body responsible for the appointment of judges in the country on 24 December.
A working group will be created with the involvement of interested individuals and organisations to discuss procedures and criteria for the selection and appointment of judges.
The second format, which will be a parliamentary format, will also discuss the same issues. Such type of work will lead to the results which will be liked by everyone,” Kobakhidze said.
The Supreme Court has now 10 judges instead of 28. Photo: Tabula.
Backstory
- On 24 December the High Council of Justice nominated 10 judges for the Supreme Court of Georgia without previous consultations. The list was criticized by the civil sector, two members of the High Council of Justice and several top figures of the Georgian Dream ruling party, as the list included “several judges with controversial past.”
- The High Council of Justice claims that the list was prepared in a hasty manner as currently there are only 10 judges instead of 28 on the Supreme Court.
- On 26 December Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze stated that the list will not be discussed in an accelerated manner.
- On 27 December head of Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee Eka Beselia quit as she said due to the list of judges and after several days she nominated three candidates for the deputy head of the committee. However, the ruling team withdrew the one elected to the post nominated by Beselia “due to a violation of mandatory procedures.”
- The ruling party leaders says Beselia’s resignation had nothing to do with the judges and that it was speculation on her part. Kobakhidze, who was accused of lobbying the list by Beselia, says that the ruling party postponed discussions regarding the list before Beselia announced her resignation.
- Lifetime appointment of judges was introduced by the Georgian Dream leadership in 2013-2014 to provide higher guarantees for judges and their fairness.
The Georgian Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee has elected former deputy head of the committee David Matikashvili as acting head until the spring session, before the committee launches discussions on the controversial list of judges for the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Head of the ruling Georgian Dream party political council and the founder of the party Bidzina Ivanishvili has revealed his view regarding the controversial issue of the nomination of ten judges for the Supreme Court of Georgia at the end of December.
Georgian Dream ruling party leaders say that the controversial list of ten judges for the Supreme Court of Georgia will not be discussed in an accelerated manner and discussions around the issue will take place in the spring.
The Georgian Dream ruling party faction has withdrawn Gedevan Popkhadze from the Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee which makes it impossible for Popkhadze to take the post of deputy head of the committee, to which he was elected last week.
Ten judges, who were nominated for the Supreme Court of Georgia at the end of December 2018, have released a joint statement today in which they call upon the parliament to suspend discussions around their candidacies.
This is the first time when High Council of Justice nominates candidates for the Supreme Court and sends the candidates to the Parliament of Georgia for voting but the ten judges nominated by the HCJ have triggered controversies and criticism in the public and civil sector. So the government considers new regulations regarding the judges selection.