Survey: 53% of Georgians Believe Judiciary Is under GD Influence

A recent survey conducted by the non-governmental organization Transparency International Georgia reads that 53% of the population believes the judiciary is under the influence of the ruling party Georgian Dream (GD) while 50% thinks that the court system is unjust.

The survey was commissioned by Transparency International Georgia and conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) in the period from February 20 to March 5, 2019. With a total of 2,087 respondents being interviewed throughout the country, the representative survey has a margin of error of 2.3%.

The poll revealed that the judiciary is one of the least trusted institutions in the country.

The survey also showed that 43% of the population believes there is an influential group of judges (a clan) in the judiciary, of which 87% thinks that the clan enjoys the support of the ruling party, and 94% thinks that the members of the clan should leave the judiciary.

It also revealed that a large majority (83%) of the population believes that judges with a history of making unjust decisions under political pressure should not be working in the judiciary.

Furthermore, 46% of respondents believe that the courts should be staffed with completely new judges in order for the judiciary to regain trust, and 41% thinks that the government should not interfere in judicial affairs.

By Thea Morrison

Infographics by TI Georgia