EU issues statement on appointment of Supreme Court judges
Acting Prosecutor General Shalva Tadumadze, his deputy Mamuka Vasadze and Secretary of Georgia’s High Council of Justice Giorgi Mikautadze are among the 14 new judges approved by parliament on December 12. Photo: Parliament of Georgia/Facebook
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The European Union has issued a statement on the recent lifetime appointment of 14 Supreme Court judges in Georgia.
In a statement released yesterday, the new EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano said the selection procedure to appoint judges was "not transparent" and "risk for credibility" of judiciary.
The selection procedure did not adhere to all recommendations made by the Venice Commission and was characterised by key shortcomings, including a lack of transparency that undermines a genuinely merit-based nomination process”, Stano stated.
He further noted that a number of the appointed candidates “do not enjoy broad public trust, as was obvious in the course of the selection process”.
While the hearings carried out in the Parliament were transparent, more efforts should have been devoted to justify the choice of candidates ahead of the final vote”, he added.
Selection procedure to appoint judges to the Supreme Court of #Georgia not transparent,risk for credibility of #judiciary. Important also for relations with the EU. Our statement here: https://t.co/y8hPgaQEjD
— Peter Stano (@ExtSpoxEU) December 13, 2019
The EU therefore calls on Georgia to consider the recommendations of the Venice Commission, as well the shortcomings registered by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and other key observers, ahead of any additional appointments.
Georgia's commitment to uphold the highest standards of ethics and integrity in its judiciary remains key for the credibility of the judiciary in the eyes of the Georgian citizens and for the advancement of the EU-Georgia agenda”, Stano concluded.
The Georgian parliament approved 14 lifelong judges of the Supreme Court amid protests of the opposition and civic groups on December 12.
The US Embassy to Georgia also stated after the voting that the list of candidates approved in Parliament includes those nominees, who were "unable to demonstrate sufficiently their legal expertise or a commitment to impartiality”.
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 Georgian parliament has approved 14 of total 19 candidates for lifelong judges of the Georgian Supreme Court amid protests of the opposition and civic groups. Prosecutor General Shalva Tadumadze, his deputy Mamuka Vasadze and Secretary of Georgia’s High Council of Justice Giorgi Mikautadze are among those approved.
Twelve individuals including opposition leaders and members have been detained at parliament earlier today for ‘hooliganism and disobedience to the police’, during a rally opposing a 20-person list of judges nominated for seats on the Georgian Supreme Court. Opposition leaders and members Giorgi Vashadze, Giorgi Tevdoradze, Beso Gazdelian, Guram Chalagashvili, Zurab Kostava, David Kakauridze and Kakhaber Machitidze are among the detainees.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party says it will not vote for several of 20 candidates running for a seat as a Georgian Supreme Court judge, during the voting scheduled on December 12.
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.
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.
The report reads that the final plenary vote on the judicial appointments took place amidst a political crisis, a boycott by the opposition, and widespread calls for an adjournment.
The High Council of Justice has appointed 36 judges to appellate and district courts in Georgia. Newly appointed judges who have more than three years of experience in the court system are appointed for life, while the rest are appointed for a probationary period of three years.