US ‘a bit disappointed’ over the bill on judges drafted by ruling party MPs
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, April 25
Acting US Ambassador Ross Wilson says that he is a bit disappointed that the bill drafted by the Ruling party MPs on the selection and appointment of Georgian Supreme Court judges do not fully reflect the recommendations of the EU, Council of Europe, OSCE and Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.
Wilson stated on Wednesday that the US supports the development of the Georgian judicial system as the fair court plays a major role in the country’s democratic development.
“The process [of the selection and appointment of judges] should be transparent. Parliament should fulfill its critical role and we should have the judges in the Supreme Court who will hold a public trust,” Wilson told the Georgian media.
The opposition and former members of the Georgian Dream ruling party say that the statement is a “clear message.”
“What should he [Wilson] have said more? The position is clearly negative,” a member of the United National Movement Roman Gotsiridze said.
A former member of the ruling party Eka Beselia, who claims to have left the party because of the support of ‘biased judges’ by the Georgian Dream top figures, says that Wilson openly expressed a negative attitude of the US and the EU.
“The ruling party will not be able to easily ‘sell’ the statements as if the recommendations regarding the bill have been met,” Beselia said.
Head of Parliament’s Legal Issues Committee Anri Okhanashvili claims that Wilson’s statement reveals that both the US and Georgia are eager to ensure high standards in the Georgian court system.
A ruling party MP Giorgi Volski claims that Wilson is disappointed as all the positions of the Venice Commission and the ruling party did not match.
“Four of five recommendations have been taken into account. As for the fifth recommendation, which says that the candidates for the Supreme Court should be voted openly, we do not agree, as we believe that the voters will express their views more freely when the voting is closed,” Volski said.
Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze and several other ruling party MPs drafted a bill on the selection and appointment of judges in the wake of controversial nomination of 10 judges for the Georgian Supreme Court by the High Council of Justice, a body responsible for selection and appointment of judges in the country, back in December 2018.
The nomination was grilled as NGOs, opposition and several members of the ruling party stated that the list included the judges who used to deliver biased verdicts under the United National Movement leadership.
The NGOs and the opposition also criticized the bill drafted by Kobakhidze as others, saying that the bill maintained chances for the “biased judges” stay in the system.
The ruling party requested recommendations from the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe to provide the bill which would be “in the interests of all parties.”
The recommendations of the Venice Commission said that the bill should set higher age standard for candidates, non-judge candidates should not be forced to pass an exam in law, a secret balloting should be rejected during voting, a High Council of Justice member, who would run for judge, must be banned from voting and several others.
Out of major recommendations, one, related to secret balloting has not been taken into account.
The ruling party says that they will not consider the “political part” of the recommendations, which says that the current parliament should not approve 17 judges for the Supreme Court and that it raises questions that the High Council of Justice, “which has low trust” in public, will be able to nominate judges for the court.
Currently, there are 11 judges in the Supreme Court when their number must be 28.
Based on the new Georgian constitution, which came into play in December 2018, judges for the Supreme Court are selected by the High Council of Justice and parliament approves them.
The ruling party bill has been adopted with two readings in parliament, with only one, third and final reading still ahead.
