President appoints two Constitutional Court judges

Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili has today named two people who will serve as judges of the country’s Constitutional Court for the next 10 years.

The new judges were Irine Imerlishvili, Secretary of the National Security Council; and Giorgi Kverenchkhiladze, former Parliamentary Secretary of the President.

President Margvelashvili described the new judges as "very highly qualified lawyers”.

"[They are] not only very qualified lawyers but very strong people of principle, which is a very important feature for a judge,” Margvelashvili said.

"I believe they will intensify our country’s democratic development and defend human rights in this very important period for Georgia,” he said.

Giorgi Kverenchkhiladze will serve as a judge of Georgia's Constitutional Court for the next 10 years. Photo by President's press office.

Irine Imerlishvili (R) will serve as a judge of Georgia's Constitutional Court for the next 10 years. Photo by President's press office.

Imerlishvili and Kverenchkhiladze will replace Giorgi Papuashvili and Konstantine Vardzelashvili – two judges of the Constitutional Court whose 10-year term expires on September 30. Both Papuashvili and Vardzelashvili were appointed by the President’s quota.

Meanwhile Papuashvili also served as chairman of the Constitutional Court so a new chairman must be elected once his term ends.

Two other judges of the Court will also end their term on September 30 but one was appointed by Parliament and the other by the Constitutional Court’s Plenum so their substitutes must be named by these two bodies.

Today Georgia’s Constitutional Court celebrated the 20th anniversary of its creation. A special conference was held to celebrate this date.

President Margvelashvili announced his decision of the new judges at the conference held in western Georgia’s Black Sea resort city Batumi and home to the Constitutional Court.

Meanwhile Imerlishvili’s appointment as a Constitutional Court judge meant the post of Georgia’s National Security Council was now vacant.