Supreme Court of Georgia Condemns Vetting System, Deeming it a Threat to Judicial Independence
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
The Supreme Court of Georgia issued a statement expressing concern about the extraordinary procedure for checking the integrity of judges, commonly referred to as the vetting system initiative. Vetting is one of the recommendations issued by the European Commission in its enlargement report.
The court considers that the so-called vetting unequivocally, essentially, and fundamentally undermines the independence of the court or individual judge.
"It undermines public confidence in the justice system and aims to consolidate negative public opinion about the need for 'integrity' checks to facilitate political control over the judiciary," the statement reads.
The Supreme Court considers that the stated content and implementation of external pressure on judges, in the absence of factual circumstances, create a reasonable doubt that this is a message addressed to each judge individually - in the context of their refusal to submit to political control, as announced by the relevant agenda, regarding the distribution/use of emergency inspection mechanisms against them.
The Supreme Court noted that vetting will create a climate of constant tension in the court, which will have a negative impact on the individual performance of each judge.
In addition, according to the statement, the goal of attempting to introduce the initiative is to divert judges' attention away from matters of justice and towards non-legal and political issues.
The Supreme Court pointed out that, according to the legislation in force in Georgia, issues of integrity, competence, and compliance with the high position of each judge are subject to thorough scrutiny.
The Supreme Court also stated that the initiators of vetting target judges of the Supreme Court. However, judges annually fill out declarations, which, according to the statement, provide sufficient information for comprehensive monitoring of their property status. The court further indicates that this process is complemented by special monitoring of declarations from individual judges selected by the non-governmental sector.
"In the current situation, the so-called 'vetting' requirement is a manipulative and insincere expression of concern for the justice system by interested parties. It is clear that the excessive interest of the mentioned actors and their agenda is aimed at weakening the legitimacy of the judiciary as one of the independent branches of government and moving governance mechanisms outside the courts.
The Supreme Court of Georgia declares with full responsibility that in the Georgian judicial system, neither the integrity nor the qualifications of the judges, nor the quality of justice, nor the standard of justification of the decisions, indicate the existence of a rule of law problem. In contrast, international practice has clearly shown that similar so-called "emergency procedures" not only fail to strengthen the principle of the rule of law but actually undermine it," the statement reads.
