TI: Georgia lacks independent judiciary

The NGO named "Transparency International" (TI) has presented in Brussels its new report assessing the measures undertaken by the authorities of Georgia under the action plan within the European Policy of Neighbourhood.

In the TI's opinion, the Georgia's major problem is the absence of independent judiciary in the country. Based on various researches, the authors of the report write that among all the state institutes the courts are least trusted by citizens of Georgia.

The report marks that the existing problems of the judiciary are also reflected in the politics. The TI gives an example of Georgia's parliamentary and presidential elections in 2008, when the courts were least interested in claims of oppositional parties and observers. The authors of the document emphasize that the courts and the prosecutor's office are again under control of the party in power, the "Echo of the Caucasus" radio reports.

In the meantime, Robert Muller, head of the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), has positively estimated the reforms of the judicial system of Georgia. He finds the reforms conducted in the system of the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia as a good achievement, and the new Criminal Code - a significant progress, the "News-Georgia" reports.