Majority Member Says High Council of Justice Needs to Be Dissolved

Georgian Dream (GD) majority member Levan Koberidze says the High Council of Justice (HCOJ) needs to be dissolved.

“Today the justice system is locked. Without the consent of the High Council of Justice, in fact no one can enter the system and many good lawyers are left beyond it. This will lead to very bad results," Koberidze said while commenting on the controversial list of 10 judges for the Supreme Court of Georgia, sent by the HCOJ to the parliament for approval.

The list is highly controversial and it was criticized by the non-governmental sector, the opposition and a number of GD MPs.

On December 24, eight HCOJ members supported 10 judges for the Supreme Court of Georgia without notifying non-judge members of the council.

Non-judge members Anna Dolidze and Nazi Janezashvili called the list “shameful”, adding the presented candidates did not have a good reputation due to “biased judiciary” as they had been working under the previous government.

MP Eka Beselia stepped down from her position as chairperson of the Parliament's Legislative Affairs Committee, saying she resigned in response to "the hasty and unjustified process of appointing Supreme Court judges for life."

GD lawmaker Beka Natsvlishvili says he will leave the majority if Parliament approves the list of judges offered by the High Council of Justice.

Mamuka Mdinaradze, Chairperson of the Georgian Dream faction, stated discussions surrounding the issue will take place in spring. He rejected speculations that the ruling party is lobbying the controversial list.

By Thea Morrison

Related stories:

GD Says Accelerated Discussion of List of Judges Not on Agenda

Majority MP to Leave GD if Parliament Approves List of Judges

Majority MP Withdrawn from Legal Issues Committee

Eka Beselia Resigns Her Post as Chair of Legal Affairs Committee

Levan Murusidze Appointed as Lifetime Judge

Parliament Postpones Consideration of Supreme Court Candidates until Spring