Former member of High Council of Justice withdraws candidacy for Supreme Court judge
Dimitri Gvritishvili is a judge of the Administrative Cases Chamber of the Tbilisi Court of Appeal. Photo: High Council of Justice of Georgia.
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Former member of the High Council of Justice Dimitri Gvritishvili has withdrawn his candidacy for a spot on the Supreme Court following the recent appointment of six judges which was harshly criticised by the opposition, NGOs and the diplomatic corps.
The EU-mediated agreement, which ended the political standoff caused by parliamentary elections towards the end of 2020, called for a moratorium on the process of appointing new judges to the country’s highest court until substantial judicial reforms had been enacted.
Gvritishvili withdrew his candidacy ‘for personal reasons’ a few days ago, announced the High Council of Justice.
He was interviewed by the Council earlier this month but his candidacy was not supported.
Dimitri Gvritishvili is a judge of the Administrative Cases Chamber of the Tbilisi Court of Appeal.
US ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan called on the Georgian government several times to temporarily stop the process of appointing judges.
The US State Department also called on the Georgian government to suspend the process in line with the April 19 agreement until the implementation of inclusive judicial reform.
The US State Department has called on the Georgian government to suspend the process of the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court, urging the authorities to implement the April 19 EU-mediated agreement which ended months of a political standoff caused by the parliamentary elections of 2020. The US State Department says that ‘comprehensive, transparent, and inclusive judicial reform’ must be carried out before the process can continue.
The US Embassy to Georgia has stated that the appointment of judges to the country’s Supreme Court is ‘extremely disappointing,’ noting that Georgian leaders, including the ruling Georgian Dream party, failed to fulfil the obligation under the April 19 EU-mediated agreement which ended months of political standoff. The Georgian parliament appointed six judges out of nine candidates to the country’s Supreme Court on July 12, despite calls from the international community, NGOs and opposition to place a moratorium on the process.
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.
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.
The United States Embassy to Georgia on Wednesday made a recommendation to the Georgian Parliament to allow lifetime appointments for the country’s Supreme Court judges to retain “qualified and experienced” personnel, as part of its general recommendations on the judicial reform to the state legislature.