US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan on Supreme Council of Justice's elected members and statement of Oleksiy Arestovych
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
The US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan commented on the statement of Oleksiy Arestovych, in which the adviser of the office of the President of Ukraine stated that "in the near future, when Ukraine gains an advantage in the war with Russia, they should switch to 'helping' Georgia. She refused to speak 'on behalf' of a member of the Ukrainian government Arestovych.
Degnan voiced the position of the United States once again and said that Washington consistently and firmly supports Georgia's aspirations for the European future, which means EU and NATO membership.
The ambassador also added that she is making every effort to ensure that Georgia achieves the Euro-Atlantic goals.
"I think that now as a candidate there is a real possibility of this [European integration] if the leaders and the people agree and take the necessary steps to implement the 12 recommendations." It is important for the process to be broad and inclusive, involving civil society, the opposition, and various interested parties.
"We are all trying to see if the leaders of Georgia can do what is necessary to achieve this goal, which is the clear will of the Georgian people to become fully integrated into the European family and gain candidate status," the ambassador added.
The Ambassador to Georgia also noted that anything that divides Georgia and Ukraine and promotes discord between these countries benefits only Russia.
Degnan also added that Russia's invasion of Georgia and Ukraine threatens the territorial integrity and sovereignty of both countries, and this is the time when unity is needed.
Degnan responded to the election of Levan Murusidze and Dimitri Gvirtishvili as non-judge members of the Supreme Council of Justice and said that the European Commission will evaluate this.
According to the ambassador, an independent, truly impartial court is very important for any democracy.
"As you mentioned, justice reform is one of the 12 recommendations of the European Union. It is not only in the list of 12 recommendations, it is also mentioned in the Association Agreement with the European Union, and it is a very important area. However, it is very important for democracy to have an independent, truly impartial judiciary to protect democracy.
The judicial reform process should be broad, inclusive, and civil society representatives, opposition, and interested parties should participate in it, not only because they have an interest in this field, but also because they have very good ideas and opinions on how to improve the Georgian justice system.
While traveling to the regions of Georgia, I had the privilege to meet with the judges of the regional courts and learn about the very important work they do. I can say that there are many judges who are dedicated and professional in their work.
I hope that the justice reform will solve the real challenges facing the courts. For example, in some courts there are a lot of accumulated cases, in some places there is a lack of judges, and most importantly, citizens should receive proper support in terms of justice," said Degnan.
