Ruling party supports appointment of judges to supreme court despite calls for moratorium
The ruling party will put to a vote the Georgian High Council of Justice’s (HCJ) nine selected candidates in the parliament. Photo: Georgian Dream press office.
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The ruling party says that it supports appointing of judges to the country’s supreme court despite calls from the opposition to place a moratorium on the process.
Chair of the ruling party Irakli Kobakhidze said earlier today that the process would not be paused because the party has already fulfilled several conditions stipulated by the agreement between the opposition and the ruling party:
The procedures of candidates’ nomination for the Supreme Court were conducted in accordance with the Constitution of Georgia and the political agreement. No one, not even the Venice Commission, the moderator of the negotiation, nor the ambassadors involved in the negotiation or the political parties have expressed an opinion against it. Consequently, all parties from the outset were aware of the fact that the new law provided for the continuation and completion of the current procedure,” explained Kobakhidze.
Amendments to the law on the nomination of candidates to the Supreme Court were passed based on the agreement brokered by Charles Michel, president of the European Council.
Ruling party MP and the vice-speaker of Parliament Archil Talakvadze reminded the opposition that they had signed the agreement, which obliges them to participate in the process.
Lelo for Georgia political party leader Mamuka Khazaradze was one of the first opposition leaders who responded to the ruling party’s decision and suggested the opposition resume its boycott of parliament, calling the move a ‘gross violation’ of the agreement.
Under no circumstances will we allow you to appoint judges and the country to have a judiciary that is run by one man and is politicised,” said Khazaradze.
Khazaradze’s proposal was supported by the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party.
Member of United National Movement (UNM) MP Kakha Okriashvili agreed with Khazaradze’s proposal, saying that the Georgian Dream has taken an ‘illegitimate step’ and ‘falsifies the promised reforms of the judiciary.’
Leader of the opposition Strategy Aghmashenebeli party Giorgi Vashadze and Iago Khvichia from Girchi did not support the idea of leaving parliament.
Giorgi Vashadze stated that he is not going to make a decision, which will damage his party’s position amongst western partners, while Iago khvichia supports the development of common strategies and believes that ‘running and standing elsewhere’ won’t help.
The ruling party will put to a vote the Georgian High Council of Justice’s (HCJ) nine selected candidates in the parliament.
The US Embassy to Georgia has posted the highlighted text of the April 19 EU-mediated agreement between Georgian political parties to counter the position of the ruling Georgian Dream party that the parliament should continue the election of new judges in the Georgian Supreme Court.
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association says that clan rule of Georgia’s High Council of Justice (HCJ), an independent body which selects and appoints judges around the country, remains a major challenge.
EU and US ambassadors to Georgia say that the election of judges to Georgia’s Supreme Court and members of the High Council of Justice should take place only after major justice reforms have been carried out in line with the recent EU-mediated agreement signed by the majority of Georgian political parties back in April 2021.
The Georgian parliament must ensure transparency in judicial reform, including the appointment of judges, the ambassadors of the European Union and the United States Carl Hartzell and Kelly Degnan, and Head of the Council of Europe Office in Tbilisi Natalia Voutova say in a letter sent to Georgian Parliament Speaker Kakha Kuchava.
The appointment of judges to the Supreme Court by the Georgian High Council of Justice (HCJ) must be stopped temporarily until fundamental reforms are implemented in the judiciary and a wide discussion of the issue is held, US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan said earlier today at a conference of the International Society for Fair Elections And Democracy (ISFED) on Digital Election Campaign and Information Manipulations in Georgia.
Georgian judges have released a joint statement in which they condemn what they say is a ‘politically motivated and unhealthy process which aims to discredit the Georgian judiciary.’ The letter by 310 judges comes in response to statements from the opposition, NGOs and foreign embassies which call for a moratorium on the election of new judges to the Georgian Supreme Court and the High Council of Justice (HCJ) until the ‘full implementation’ of the April 19 EU-mediated agreement.
US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan says that the Georgian parliament has the power to temporarily suspend the election of new judges to the country’s Supreme Court.
Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria has stated that she will not participate in screening of candidates for judges to the country’s Supreme Court in the state legislature.
The Georgian parliament has appointed six judges to the country’s Supreme Court, despite calls from the opposition, NGOs and the international community to suspend the process in compliance with the EU-mediated agreement which put an end to six months of political tension over the country’s October 2020 parliamentary elections. Parliament made the decision at today’s session, which was delayed after opposition activists and NGO representatives entered parliament and occupied the speaker’s seat, demanding the resignation of PM Garibashvili.
NGOs have claimed that the ruling Georgian Dream party does not want the independence of the judiciary, following the appointment of six judges to the Supreme Court by the Georgian parliament yesterday, despite the calls from opposition, NGOs and the international community to place a moratorium on the process, in line with the EU-mediated agreement, which ended the political standoff caused by the parliamentary elections of October 2020.
The EU Commission has announced that failure to pause the appointment of judges to Georgia’s Supreme Court, as provided for in a recent agreement mediated by the EU between the government and the opposition in April, could negatively affect the release of the second tranche of EU financial assistance to the country. Six judges were nominated to the Supreme Court by the Georgian parliament on Monday, despite calls from the international community, NGOs and opposition for the postponement of the process.