Supreme Court Judge Selection Procedure Almost Decided
The leader of the parliamentary majority Archil Talakvadze has declared that the ruling party Georgian Dream has “almost decided” on the procedure for selecting judges for the Georgian Supreme Court.
The dispute has been at the center of discussions since mid-December when parliament suspended the selection process. Eight High Court of Justice (HCoJ) members supported the appointment of 10 judges without informing non-judge members of the Council, a move which was heavily criticized by over 40 NGOs and officials. Public defender Nino Lomjaria described the selection process as “incompatible with the constitution”.
On January 21, civil society groups organized a rally outside the HCoJ calling for the resignation of the Chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals Mikheil Chichaladze and judge Levan Murusidze. They also called for better regulations and procedures, with the involvement of civil society, so that only the best candidates become judges in a democratic way.
Eka Beselia, former chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, resigned from her post on December 27 due to the dispute surrounding the selection process, saying it was “hasty and unacceptable” and “should be suspended until the selection process is refined”. She accused Georgian Dream’s leadership, including speaker Irakli Kobakhidze, of lobbying the controversial nominees. She argued that some of the nominees “served Mikheil Saakashvili’s oppressive regime”.
Some have criticized the move to halt proceedings. On January 21, the 10 candidates released a joint statement asking Parliament to not deliberate on their appointment so as to avoid “unhealthy speculations”. In addition, Part Chair Bidzina Ivanishvili at the time released a statement criticizing the decision which “hindered the normal functioning of the court”.
However, Ivanishvili is still open to discussions. “It is noteworthy that this decision was made in accordance with the position of a majority of the ruling team,” read the statement, “we respect differing opinions within the team and we believe that it is possible to make reasonable decisions only on the basis of free discussions”.
Officials, including Beselia and Talakvadze, attended a meeting at the Georgian Dream office in Tbilisi on February 2 to discuss the lifetime appointment of judges. “I once again touched on the issue of suspension of judges’ lifetime appointments, an idea which had been shared by the chairman of the ruling party. Nobody seemed against the idea. So, we started working on initiating a procedure for appointing judges in the first and second instance courts. The Supreme Court issue needs to be discussed separately once again,” Beselia said.
Talakvadze stated that the new procedure will be aligned with constitutional principles and other legislative acts. “Considering the existing legal framework, we will continue working on the document which will improve the selection process of Supreme Court judges, their introduction to Parliament and finally, their appointment,” he said.
During the meeting, Georgian Dream decided to back Anri Okhanashvili’s candidacy to be Eka Beselia’s replacement and become chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee in the Georgian parliament. Davit Matikahsvili has served as acting Chairman since she resigned.
Parliament will decide on his candidacy, as well as the Supreme Court judges during Spring sessions. This is the first time that the HCoJ has nominated candidates who are then voted upon by Parliament. This procedure was first introduced after President Salome Zurabishvili’s inauguration on December 16.
By Amy Jones
Image source: Parliament of Georgia Press Office