US Embassy expresses disappointment with election of judges in Georgia

The Georgian parliament elected judges of the country’s Supreme Court (SC) in violation of agreements with the opposition, the US Embassy claims. Opposition MPs believe that the new judges are fully under the control of the authorities. At the parliamentary hearings, candidates for judges demonstrated their incompetence, the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association stated.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on May 22, the US and the EU opposed the elections to the High Council of Justice of Georgia. The appointment of judges by the High Council of Justice prior to the planned reform of the judicial system casts a shadow on its reputation, and the elections themselves were held with violations and signs of a conflict of interest, Georgian human rights defenders suggest.

On July 12, the Georgian parliament elected six permanent judges to the Supreme Court. All of them are connected with the ruling party and will not work independently, says Roman Gotsiridze, an MP from the opposition “United National Movement” (UNM) Party.

All six judges worked during the presidency of Mikhail Saakashvili and were under the control of the executive branch, and the same will happen now, believes Levan Ioseliani, an MP from the opposition “Citizens” Party.

The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association notes that when selecting candidates, the “Georgian Dream” Party did not take into account the “calls” of international and non-governmental organizations.

The NGO points out that all candidates for judges are united by a reluctance to admit that there is a crisis in the judicial system. People loyal to the “judicial clan” and its leaders were also elected as judges.

The elections of six judges of the Supreme Court of Georgia is “extremely disappointing” and does not build confidence in the country’s judicial system, the US Embassy declares.