Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Monday said the bloc supported reforms in Georgia, including in the judiciary system of the country.
In his remarks, Herczynski noted the progress made by the country in seeking the EU membership candidate status would be assessed in the EU enlargement report by the 27 member states, and pointed out “there is still time to go ahead”.
The diplomat stressed “professionalism, complete independence of judges, a very strong and sound judicial system” were among priorities set by the bloc for granting the country the status.
We are working with the Georgian [Government], with the Ministry of Justice, to introduce reforms. The work on judicial reform is also underway in the Parliament. The EU always supports these reforms”, Herczynski said.
“So there is still time to go ahead and to make sure that those reforms, that are very difficult and challenging, are well advanced”, he concluded.
The comments come after controversy in the country surrounding the judiciary, after the United States Department of State sanctioned four former and current Georgian judges under the visa restrictions authority earlier this month for alleged corruption.
The announcement of the decision alleged Irakli Shengelia, Mikheil Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze and Valerian Tsertsvadze had “abused their positions as court chairmen and members of Georgia’s High Council of Justice, undermining the rule of law and the public’s faith in Georgia’s judicial system”.
The decision was met by criticism from Georgian Government officials, while the domestic opposition has claimed it highlights the alleged corruption in the domestic judiciary, and called for the formation of a Parliamentary inquiry into the state of the domestic courts.