Ruling party official on State Department report on Georgian judiciary: domestic system has “passed ECHR test”

Rati Ionatamishvili, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party faction in the legislative body, on Tuesday said the domestic judiciary had “successfully passed the test” of the European Court of Human Rights, in response to the United States State Department’s 2023 report on human rights abroad.

The report contained critical points about the Georgian judiciary, however Ionatamishvili said the system enjoyed “leading positions in authoritative international rankings”.

There is no assessment part in the report of the State Department - it mostly contains quotes, including those of the Public Defender. Consequently, reactions that its authors have had later are a bit awkward - at the very least unprofessional, and at most malicious on their part”, he claimed.

“It is a fact that the Georgian judiciary successfully passes the ECHR test. It is important that in terms of reliability, it surpasses many countries of NATO and the European Union”, the lawmaker said.

Ionatamishvili added the standard of protection of rights was a “continuous process”, and further credited the Georgian ruling party for ensuring a “high standard” of human rights.