NGOs Urge Prosecutor’s Council Not to Nominate Ex-Prosecutor for Same Position

Seventeen NGOs based in Georgia, including the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, have called on the Prosecutor's Council not to nominate former Prosecutor General Irakli Shotadze for the post of Prosecutor General.

On February 5, the Georgian Civil Society National Platform for the Eastern Partnership released a statement on the Prosecutor General's competition, signed by 17 NGOs.

The organizations urge the Prosecutorial Council not to nominate Irakli Shotadze's candidacy to Parliament, and in choosing another candidate, to prove the candidate's minimal compliance with the requirements of the Prosecutor General post.

The NGOs also request Parliament to "make a final decision after communication and consensus with the various political forces which would promote the political neutrality and legitimacy of the newly appointed Prosecutor General."

On December 12, 2019, after Prosecutor General Shalva Tadumadze was elected Judge of the Supreme Court, the position of Prosecutor General became vacant. The Prosecutorial Council needed to select three candidates and then vote separately for each. In said procedure, a candidate who receives more than two-thirds of the Prosecutorial Council votes shall be presented to Parliament for approval. At the final stage, the nominee needs the support of at least 76 MPs to be elected to the post of Prosecutor General.

The Prosecutorial Council has already begun the process of selecting a nominee for the new Prosecutor General. The process of interviewing these candidates is ongoing. There have been numerous announcements regarding the ongoing competition, and the situation has been commented on by the Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary, which criticized the transparency and fairness of the process, speaking about the lack of selection procedures and main criteria, underlining the importance of political consensus and freedom from political influence.

On January 16, it was announced that the Technical University had nominated Irakli Shotadze, who resigned from the same post in 2018. Shotadze, former Chief Prosecutor, resigned on May 31, 2018, after large-scale protests were launched regarding the high-profile “Khorava Street” case, which involved the murder of two teenagers by their schoolmates. The protests were launched in response to distrust in the investigative procedures and a number of flaws found in the case.

Upon his resignation in 2018, Shotadze announced he was stepping down to meet the demand of the protestors that he do so, and to defuse the “unrest in the country”. However, during his interview for the Prosecutor General’s post early this month, he said his resignation was logical in those circumstances and he would do the same again.

“That was my decision and I made it in the interests of the Prosecutor's Office and the State. There was a special situation at that time. There was a problem of communication with the public on a really serious criminal case. Political groups and parties often try to use such cases for their own political gains. Such a situation and misunderstanding in society was mainly caused by the political parties, which manipulated this tragedy and misled the public," he said.

However, the statement of the non-governmental sector reads that Shotadze, as a leader, failed to perform his duties in the judicial process, adding that, by law, a Prosecutor General can become a person with high authority.

“Shotadze does not meet this criterion; moreover, his attempt to return to this post two years after leaving it questions his honesty and his ability to take responsibility,” the statement reads.

Irakli Shotadze’s candidacy was supported by a number of the ruling party members and officials. Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze noted that during Shotadze’s term in the Prosecutor’s Office many important cases were investigated which had not been opened previously.

“I think that Shotadze will surely have support from the ruling party,” he added.

By Tea Mariamidze

Image source: Imedi News