Venice commission welcomes several changes to Georgian law on courts

The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe has welcomed several amendments to the Georgian law on Common Courts which were made according to the recommendations of the Venice Commission. 

The Venice Commission, however, says that are  ‘certain outstanding recommendations’ that should be considered in order to ensure ‘even greater clarity of the legislation, transparency and fair treatment for all candidates (for the Supreme Court of Georgia).

The Venice Commission has praised the amendments for explicitly mentioning the principle of equal treatment of candidates (for the Georgian Supreme Court), shortlisting only candidates who have achieved the best results, and disclosing the identity of the voting members of the High Council of Justice (HCoJ) of Georgia (which selects the candidates). 

Voting as such is an imperfect mechanism, as it is difficult to base an efficient merit-based appointment on a voting procedure; however, the level of transparency now proposed together with an appeal process should be of some help, the Venice Commission notes,” said the Venice Commission. 

As for the appeal mechanism, the Venice Commission welcomed that decisions by the HCoJ are now open to further appeals to the Qualifications Chamber of the Supreme Court. 

The Venice Commission, however, repeated its earlier recommendation to consider modifying the composition of the HCoJ that would take a new (second) decision on the same candidate after the appeal to the Supreme Court’s Chamber has taken place. 

Besides, the appointment procedure should be stayed until the Chamber renders its decision. These recommendations are made to ensure a meaningful right of appeal,” the Venice Commission says.

The opinion was requested on April 8, 2021 by the speaker of the Parliament of Georgia. It was prepared under the Quick Response Mechanism, financed by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance, phase II.