Non-Judge Members of High Council of Justice Address Parliament
Nazi Janezashvili and Ana Dolidze, non-judge members of the High Council of Justice (HCOJ), the supreme body responsible for selecting judges, addressed the Parliament, offering principles for selection of the Supreme Court lifetime judges.
The five basic principles are:
- Set up a consulting group
- Announcement of the competition for the selection of candidates for the judges of the Supreme Court
- Avoiding conflict of interests
- Hold open interviews
- Reach consensus on decision-making
The non-judge members hope the legislative body will take into account their proposal while setting up criteria for the selection of judges after the HCOJ offered a 10-candidate list of lifetime judges was harshly criticized by the non-governmental sector and the opposition.
“The main thing in these five principles is that the HCOJ must take the decision unanimously and not only judge-members but the none-judge members should vote for the candidates. The process should take place transparently, like in the civilized countries. All qualified lawyers should be enabled to participate in the open contest,” Ana Dolidze said.
HCOJ nominated the list of 10 judges for the Supreme Court of Georgia without previous consultations on 24 December.
The list was criticized by NGOs and two non-judge members of the council who claim the submitted judges were “linked with politically motivated cases and biased judiciary.”
The NGOs have asked parliament to withdraw the list and refine the procedures for selection of judges.
The majority said that accelerated discussions of the issue are not on the agenda, adding the Parliament will discuss the issue during the spring session.
By Thea Morrison
Photo source: 1TV
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