PACE monitors express disappointment over lifetime appointment of 14 judges in Georgia
Titus Corlatean and Claude Kern stated that the appointment of judges was “against the recommendation of the international community, including the Assembly”. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Georgia have expressed their “regret and disappointment” over the recent appointment of 14 Supreme Court judges.
PACE monitors have expressed "regret and disappointment" at the Georgian Parliament's appointment of 14 judges - against the recommendation of the international community, including the Assembly https://t.co/4CtEZ7K9vx pic.twitter.com/nOjePpyU5Z
— PACE (@PACE_News) December 13, 2019
Titus Corlatean (Romania, SOC) and Claude Kern (France, ALDE), who visited Georgia in late September, stated on Friday that the appointment of the judges was “against the recommendation of the international community, including the Assembly”.
During our visit in September we expressed our serious concerns about the opaque and deficient selection process of candidates for the Supreme Court by the High Council of Justice”, Corlatean and Kern stated.
They also said that at that time they shared their expectations that the parliament would rectify the shortcomings in the selection process, including by appointing only the minimum number of judges needed to ensure the proper functioning of the Supreme Court, "in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission".
The Georgian parliament approved 14 lifelong judges of the Supreme Court amid protests of the opposition and civic groups on December 12. Photo: Parliament of Georgia/Facebook
They further noted that the Georgian parliament has appointed 14 out of 19 candidates, “without proper reasoning and reportedly including persons who have not demonstrated during the selection process that they have the legal knowledge and independence required for such an important position”.
Planning to make a regular monitoring visit to Georgia early next year, the co-rapporteurs called for “swift measures to ensure the required public trust in the justice system and the independence of the judiciary”.
The European Union and the United States have also released statements on the recent lifetime appointment of 14 Supreme Court judges in Georgia.
The European Union has issued a statement on the recent lifetime appointment of 14 Supreme Court judges in Georgia. New EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano released a statement yesterday.
The US Embassy said that the candidate selection process in the High Council of Justice “lacked transparency and resulted in a slate of nominees that did not fully represent the best qualified candidates”.
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 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.
The High Council of Justice has selected six candidates to fill the vacant seats of the lifelong judges at the Georgian Supreme Court. Although the Georgian parliament approved 14 judges in mid-December, six seats still remain vacant now.