PACE monitors urge Georgian authorities request Venice Commission opinion on changes to appointment process of Supreme Court judges
The PACE co-rapporteurs ‘intend to present their next report on Georgia early in 2021’. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Georgia Titus Corlatean and Claude Kern have urged the Georgian authorities to request a Venice Commission opinion on the proposed amendments to the law on the Common Courts for appointing Supreme Court judges.
PACE's monitors are urging the Georgian authorities to request a @VeniceComm expert opinion on planned changes to the process for appointing Supreme Court judges https://t.co/3HtS1KtqU6 pic.twitter.com/YLRBw3bcrO
— PACE (@PACE_News) September 18, 2020
PACE announced yesterday that Corlatean and Kern ‘have taken note’ of the amendments to the law on the Common Courts proposed by the ruling majority.
We welcome the willingness of the authorities to amend the law on the Common Courts, and emphasise the importance of fully implementing Venice Commission recommendations to ensure public trust in the selection process of Supreme Court judges – and thus, in the end, in the independence and impartiality of this important institution itself”, they said.
The co-rapporteurs also noted that in their previous statements they ‘have consistently called on the authorities to amend the legal framework for the selection process of Supreme Court judges in line with Venice Commission recommendations in order to address the deficiencies noted in the most recent selection process’.
The Georgian parliament approved 14 of total 19 candidates for lifelong judges of the Georgian Supreme Court in December 2019 amid protests of the opposition and civic groups.
Corlatean and Kern have expressed their “regret and disappointment” over the appointment of 14 Supreme Court judges last year.
The Georgian parliament has elected Nino Kadagidze as the new chair of the Georgian Supreme Court amid the protests of the United National Movement and the European Georgia opposition parties.
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 recently adopted resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which covers the period between January and December of 2019, has welcomed amendments which ‘reinforce parliamentary oversight in Georgia and political accountability of the executive.’PACE also welcomed “a broad agreement with all stakeholders’ about the adopted fourth wave of judicial reforms ‘with the aim of further strengthening the independence of the judiciary and efficiency of the administration of justice.’
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.
Peter Stano, a lead spokesperson for the external affairs of the EU, says that it is regrettable the Georgian parliament did not wait for the recommendations of the Venice Commission on the selection of the Supreme Court judges and adopted related amendments earlier this year, on September 30.
PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Georgia Titus Corlatean and Claude Kern have expressed their regret yesterday that the Georgian parliament ‘did not wait’ for the Venice Commission’s opinion before the adoption of the amendments for the appointment of Supreme Court judges.