Georgia elects first female Supreme Court chairperson

Georgia has a new Chair of the Supreme Court. Nino Gvenetadze was today unanimously elected by Georgian Parliament to the prestigious post.

Thanks to Parliament’s approval, Gvenetadze will be the first female chairperson of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

The 51-year-old was earlier nominated to the position by President Giorgi Margvelashvili. She was elected to the role after receiving 88 votes by MPs today, and has already made an oath in front of Parliament.

From that moment, her powers as the Chair of the Supreme Court came into force.

After her swearing-in ceremony, Gvenetadze made a brief comment to journalists and noted today was a "historic” day for her.

The new Chairperson of the Georgian Supreme Court giving oath in front of the Parliament. Photo by Georgian Parliament

"My main goal is to continue the reform of the court, to fight for the independence and impartiality of the court and to prioritise human rights.”

"This requires a big effort from and support from the legislative body. Legislature reform is a perquisite for the independence of the judiciary. My colleagues and I have struggled for justice, and today is a really historic day for me,” she said.

Gvenetadze will hold the position of Supreme Court Chair for the next 10 years. She replaced Kote Kublashvili after his term expired on February 23, 2015.

Until now, Gvenetadze, a Doctor of Law, worked as a researcher at Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Germany. She was also head of the Master and PhD programs at the School of Law of Tbilisi-based Georgian American University.

During her career she has led the Judicial Conference of Georgia – the self-governance organ of common courts judges, and the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) – one of Georgia’s leading non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Meanwhile the first Chair of the Supreme Court of Georgia was elected in 1919. Until now, all previous recipients were male.