Parliament Speaker says selection of Supreme Court judges will be transparent, democratic
Speaker Talakvadze said the Georgian parliament respects all the international reports and recommendations concerning the selection of Supreme Court judges. Photo: Archil Talakvadze/Facebook
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Georgian Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze said legislators will vote on the candidacy of the Supreme Court judges in a transparent manner in line with democratic standards.
The High Council of Justice of Georgia, a body which is responsible for the selection and appointment of Supreme Court judges released a final list of 20 candidates earlier this month.
The list includes Chief Prosecutor Shalva Tadumadze and his deputy Mamuka Vasadze, as well as current head of the Constitutional Court Zaza Tavadze and Secretary of the High Council of Justice Giorgi Mikautadze.
OSCE/ODIHR said in its recent report that “the nomination and appointment of Supreme Court Judges in Georgia is lacking transparency and accountability despite some positive measures to build public trust in the judiciary”.
ODIHR Director Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir said it is “crucial to have a fair, independent and transparent process to ensure that only the most qualified and competent candidates are appointed.”
Speaker Talakvadze said the Georgian parliament respects all the international reports and recommendations, including the ODIHR.
He said the candidates will be asked “all the important questions” and only afterwards will MPs make a decision whether or not to approve individual candidates and the list as a whole.
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.
The High Council of Justice of Georgia, a body which is responsible for the selection and appointment of judges in the country, has presented a final, 20 person list, for judges to the Supreme Court, including Chief Prosecutor Shalva Tadumadze and his deputy Mamuka Vasadze.
Georgian Chief Prosecutor Shalva Tadumadze, who was appointed to the post in July 2018, has explained his reasons for running for the Supreme Court judge when only a year has passed since his election to the position he currently occupies.
The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe has released an evaluation of a bill put forward by ruling Georgian Dream party MPs concerning the long-disputed issue of the lifetime appointment of judges to the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze introduced the 10 top issues that the legislators will be discussing during the autumn session, including election and judicial reform, European and Euro-Atlantic integration, parliamentary oversight, state budget for 2020, territorial integrity and anti-occupation policy, environment and ecology, children’s rights, support for business and agriculture.
The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Georgia welcome steps aimed to make the process of selecting Supreme Court judges more transparent. At the same time, they express “serious concern” at the manner in which the High Council of Justice prepared the list of candidates for parliament.
The Georgian Public Defender’s office has appealed to the Constitutional Court to declare the rule on the selection of Supreme Court judges unlawful as the current regulation “violates the right of a Georgian citizen to hold public office, to have access to a fair trial and it violates the principle of an independent and impartial trial.”
Georgian Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani said the parliament of Georgia has approved of the new Supreme Court judges and every European should respect the decision of the independent country’s legislators.