Justice Minister says Europeans should respect Georgian parliament’s approval of judges
Tea Tsulukiani made a statement in response to the recent international criticism over the Georgian parliament's appointment of Supreme Court judges. Photo: Justice Ministry/Facebook
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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.
Minister Tsulukiani said that some western states still lack such transparent procedures for appointing judges and called on them to take the example of Georgia and hold live interviews.
The United States, European Union and PACE have released separate statements after the recent appointment of 14 out of 20 vacant seats of Supreme Court judges in Georgia, criticising the parliament.
Turmoil around the candidates for the Georgian Supreme Court began at the end of 2018. Photo: Georgian Supreme Court press office.
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 for lifetime appointment in early September, which included Chief Prosecutor Shalva Tadumadze and his deputy Mamuka Vasadze.
Starting September 23, legislators discussed the candidates at individual hearings approving 14 out of the total of 19, as the acting head of the Constitutional Court Zaza Tavadze withdrew his candidacy ahead of the parliamentary voting.
Opposition MPs, two non-judge members of the High Council of Justice Anna Dolidze and Nazi Janezashvili and NGOs strongly disliked the list, saying that many of the judges on the list were connected with the previous, United National Movement leadership and delivering of "unfair verdicts".
However, members of the ruling Georgian Dream party said that the candidates were selected in line with the new law, drafted based on the recommendations of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.
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.
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. He said the candidates will be asked “all the important questions” and only afterwards will MPs make a decision whether or not to approve the list.
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.
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.